DNC Autopsy Author: Gaza War Cost Harris Michigan Votes
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- Paul Rivera, who wrote the DNC's 2024 election autopsy, confirmed he concluded the war in Gaza hurt Harris politically — a finding he drafted late last year but never submitted to party leadership.
- Rivera told Axios that Harris lost tens of thousands of votes in Michigan, particularly in Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, and Hamtramck, where Green Party support surged as activists organized against the Democratic ticket.
- Rivera privately shared that assessment with the pro-Palestinian IMEU Policy Project before publishing his own 564-page independent report on the 2024 election at blueby2032.com.
- Rivera included an AP photo of 2024 Michigan campaign literature reading "Do Not Vote Trump. Do Not Vote Harris. Do Not Vote Genocide," calling it "a warning and a reminder of the stakes for Democrats moving forward."
- Rivera praised embattled DNC Chair Ken Martin for convening a Middle East working group, while acknowledging rising antisemitism against Jewish Americans.
- Moderate Democrats dispute the electoral significance, citing Gallup surveys showing economy, immigration, abortion, and democracy rank higher among voter concerns than Gaza.
- The DNC denied receiving a chapter on other topics that Rivera told the New York Times he had submitted, as Rivera faces broader criticism from across the ideological spectrum for what Democrats call a botched autopsy.
Why it matters: Rivera's independent 564-page report, published after his split with the DNC, puts specific Michigan vote-loss numbers on the table that progressive Democrats can weaponize against moderates, while moderates counter with Gallup data showing Gaza ranked below economy and immigration — meaning the autopsy fight will shape the party's 2026 messaging and its Middle East working group agenda as much as its 2024 explanation.
