Democratic Review Admits Gaza Policy Cost Kamala Harris Support in 2024

A still-secret internal review by the Democratic National Committee concluded that Vice President Kamala Harris lost support in the 2024 presidential election because of the Biden administration’s approach to the war in Gaza, according to a report published by Axios.

The finding comes from an internal post-election review conducted after the loss to determine what went wrong. Party leaders decided in December 2025 not to release the report publicly, saying they did not want it to distract from preparations for future elections.

According to Axios, Democratic officials conducting the review held a private meeting with the IMEU Policy Project, a U.S.-based pro-Palestinian advocacy organization. During that meeting, Hamid Bendaas, a spokesperson for the group, said Democratic officials told them that the party’s own internal data showed the Biden administration’s Gaza policy was a “net-negative” in the 2024 election. Two other senior aides at the organization said the same conclusion was conveyed during the discussion.

Axios reported that it independently verified that Democratic officials conducting the review believed the Biden-Harris administration’s support for Israel harmed the party’s standing with some voters. 

The IMEU Policy Project said it believes the Democratic National Committee has kept the report private in part because of its findings on Israel. Party officials rejected that claim. When Democratic leaders first announced in December 2025 that the review would not be released, they said making it public could distract from preparations for future elections. Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Committee, was quoted at the time as saying, “Does this help us win? If the answer is no, it’s a distraction…”

During her brief 2024 campaign against Donald Trump, Harris attempted to strike a balance on the Israel-Gaza war. She expressed strong support for Israel while also calling for a ceasefire and voicing sympathy for Palestinian civilians in Gaza, as well as for the Israeli hostages being held by Hamas terrorists. She declined to publicly break with President Joe Biden over his handling of the conflict.

In her memoir, “107 Days,” Harris argued that Biden’s declining popularity harmed her candidacy, citing what she described as “his perceived blank check” to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. She wrote that she privately “pleaded” with Biden to show more empathy for civilians in Gaza.

During a November 2025 event in Seattle promoting the book, Harris reflected further on the administration’s messaging. “We should have done more as an administration,” she said, adding, “we should have spoken publicly about our criticism” of how Netanyahu executed the war.

The debate reflects broader divisions inside the Democratic Party. Progressive Democrats have been more critical of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, while moderate Democrats have generally maintained traditional pro-Israel positions. Party officials reviewing the election reportedly concluded that dissatisfaction among some younger and progressive voters played a role in Harris’s defeat.