# FEC Data Scraper (`crawlerbros/fec-data-scraper`) Actor Scrape FEC campaign finance data - search candidates, committees, filings, and fundraising totals from the Federal Election Commission public API. - **URL**: https://apify.com/crawlerbros/fec-data-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Crawler Bros](https://apify.com/crawlerbros) (community) - **Categories:** Automation, Developer tools, Integrations - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $3.00 / 1,000 results This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage. Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Actors are written with capital "A". ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## FEC Data Scraper Extract campaign finance data from the [Federal Election Commission (FEC)](https://www.fec.gov/) public API. Search candidates, political committees, campaign filings, and fundraising totals across all US federal elections. ### Features - Search FEC candidates by name, office, party, state, and election year - Search political committees and PACs - Retrieve campaign finance filings (F3P, F3X, etc.) - Get fundraising totals: total receipts, disbursements, and cash on hand - Covers presidential, senate, and house races from 1996 onwards - Uses FEC public API (free `DEMO_KEY` by default; bring your own for higher limits) ### Input | Field | Type | Description | |-------|------|-------------| | `mode` | String | One of: `searchCandidates`, `searchCommittees`, `searchFilings`, `searchTotals` | | `searchQuery` | String | Name or keyword to search (e.g. "Biden", "Trump") | | `office` | String | Office filter: Any, President (P), Senate (S), House (H) | | `party` | String | Party: DEM, REP, IND, LIB, GRE | | `electionYear` | Integer | Election cycle year (e.g. 2024) | | `state` | String | Two-letter US state code (e.g. "NY", "CA") | | `apiKey` | String | FEC API key from [api.data.gov](https://api.data.gov/signup/) (optional; default: DEMO_KEY) | | `maxItems` | Integer | Maximum number of results (default: 50, max: 5,000) | #### Example Inputs **Search presidential candidates:** ```json { "mode": "searchCandidates", "searchQuery": "Biden", "office": "P", "electionYear": 2024, "maxItems": 20 } ```` **Search committees:** ```json { "mode": "searchCommittees", "searchQuery": "progressive", "maxItems": 50 } ``` **Search fundraising totals:** ```json { "mode": "searchTotals", "searchQuery": "Trump", "office": "P", "electionYear": 2024, "maxItems": 10 } ``` ### Output #### Candidate Records (`recordType: "candidate"`) | Field | Type | Description | |-------|------|-------------| | `candidateId` | String | FEC candidate ID (e.g. P80001571) | | `candidateName` | String | Full name of the candidate | | `office` | String | Office sought: P, S, or H | | `party` | String | Party abbreviation | | `state` | String | State of the race | | `district` | String | House district (if applicable) | | `electionYears` | Array | Election years the candidate has run | | `incumbentStatus` | String | Challenger, Incumbent, or Open seat | | `cycles` | Array | Election cycles | | `sourceUrl` | String | FEC profile URL | #### Committee Records (`recordType: "committee"`) | Field | Type | Description | |-------|------|-------------| | `committeeId` | String | FEC committee ID | | `committeeName` | String | Committee name | | `committeeType` | String | Committee type code | | `committeeTypeFull` | String | Full committee type description | | `organizationType` | String | Organization type | | `party` | String | Party affiliation | | `state` | String | State of registration | | `treasurerName` | String | Committee treasurer name | | `firstFileDate` | String | Date of first filing | | `lastFileDate` | String | Date of most recent filing | | `cycles` | Array | Active election cycles | | `sourceUrl` | String | FEC committee profile URL | #### Filing Records (`recordType: "filing"`) | Field | Type | Description | |-------|------|-------------| | `filingId` | Integer | FEC filing ID | | `formType` | String | Form type (e.g. F3P, F3X) | | `filerName` | String | Name of the filing entity | | `receiptDate` | String | Date the FEC received the filing | | `coverageStartDate` | String | Coverage period start | | `coverageEndDate` | String | Coverage period end | | `totalReceipts` | Float | Total receipts for the period | | `totalDisbursements` | Float | Total disbursements | | `totalLoans` | Float | Total loans received | | `netContributions` | Float | Net contributions | | `sourceUrl` | String | FEC filing detail URL | #### Totals Records (`recordType: "total"`) | Field | Type | Description | |-------|------|-------------| | `candidateId` | String | FEC candidate ID | | `candidateName` | String | Candidate name | | `office` | String | Office (P/S/H) | | `party` | String | Party abbreviation | | `state` | String | State | | `electionYear` | Integer | Election year | | `cycle` | Integer | Election cycle | | `totalReceipts` | Float | Total money raised | | `totalDisbursements` | Float | Total money spent | | `cashOnHandEnd` | Float | Cash on hand at period end | | `coverageStartDate` | String | Coverage start date | | `coverageEndDate` | String | Coverage end date | | `sourceUrl` | String | FEC candidate profile URL | #### Example Output Record ```json { "candidateId": "P80001571", "candidateName": "BIDEN, JOSEPH R JR", "office": "P", "party": "DEM", "state": "US", "electionYears": [2020, 2024], "incumbentStatus": "Incumbent", "cycles": [2020, 2022, 2024], "sourceUrl": "https://www.fec.gov/data/candidate/P80001571/", "scrapedAt": "2026-05-30T12:00:00+00:00", "recordType": "candidate" } ``` ### Frequently Asked Questions **Do I need an API key?** No. The scraper uses the free `DEMO_KEY` by default, which allows 30 requests/minute and 50 requests/day. For unlimited access, register at [api.data.gov](https://api.data.gov/signup/). **How far back does the data go?** FEC data covers elections from 1996 onwards. Use the `electionYear` filter to narrow results. **What is the difference between Filings and Totals?** Filings are individual campaign finance report submissions. Totals aggregate receipts and disbursements across a candidate's full election cycle. **Can I search for PACs and Super PACs?** Yes, use `searchCommittees` mode. PACs appear as committee type "N" (non-party non-qualified), Super PACs as type "O" (independent expenditure-only). **Why am I getting rate limit errors?** The default DEMO\_KEY has strict limits. Register a free personal key at [api.data.gov](https://api.data.gov/signup/) and pass it via `apiKey`. # Actor input Schema ## `mode` (type: `string`): What type of FEC data to fetch. ## `searchQuery` (type: `string`): Name or keyword to search (e.g. 'Trump', 'progressive', 'Democratic'). Leave empty to use filters only. ## `office` (type: `string`): Filter by office sought (candidates and totals modes). ## `party` (type: `string`): Filter by political party affiliation. ## `electionYear` (type: `integer`): Filter by election cycle year (e.g. 2024). ## `state` (type: `string`): Filter by US state (two-letter code). ## `apiKey` (type: `string`): Optional FEC API key from api.data.gov for higher rate limits. Defaults to DEMO\_KEY (30 req/min, 50 req/day). ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of records to return. ## Actor input object example ```json { "mode": "searchCandidates", "searchQuery": "Trump", "office": "", "party": "", "state": "", "maxItems": 50 } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `records` (type: `string`): Dataset containing all scraped FEC records. # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "mode": "searchCandidates", "searchQuery": "Trump", "maxItems": 50 }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("crawlerbros/fec-data-scraper").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "mode": "searchCandidates", "searchQuery": "Trump", "maxItems": 50, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("crawlerbros/fec-data-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "mode": "searchCandidates", "searchQuery": "Trump", "maxItems": 50 }' | apify call crawlerbros/fec-data-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=crawlerbros/fec-data-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "FEC Data Scraper", "description": "Scrape FEC campaign finance data - search candidates, committees, filings, and fundraising totals from the Federal Election Commission public API.", "version": "1.0", "x-build-id": "mnTcf8e7nRDYQIZql" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/crawlerbros~fec-data-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-crawlerbros-fec-data-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/crawlerbros~fec-data-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-crawlerbros-fec-data-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/crawlerbros~fec-data-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-crawlerbros-fec-data-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "required": [ "mode" ], "properties": { "mode": { "title": "Mode", "enum": [ "searchCandidates", "searchCommittees", "searchFilings", "searchTotals" ], "type": "string", "description": "What type of FEC data to fetch.", "default": "searchCandidates" }, "searchQuery": { "title": "Search Query", "type": "string", "description": "Name or keyword to search (e.g. 'Trump', 'progressive', 'Democratic'). Leave empty to use filters only." }, "office": { "title": "Office", "enum": [ "", "P", "S", "H" ], "type": "string", "description": "Filter by office sought (candidates and totals modes).", "default": "" }, "party": { "title": "Party", "enum": [ "", "DEM", "REP", "IND", "LIB", "GRE" ], "type": "string", "description": "Filter by political party affiliation.", "default": "" }, "electionYear": { "title": "Election Year", "minimum": 1996, "maximum": 2030, "type": "integer", "description": "Filter by election cycle year (e.g. 2024)." }, "state": { "title": "State", "enum": [ "", "AL", "AK", "AZ", "AR", "CA", "CO", "CT", "DE", "DC", "FL", "GA", "HI", "ID", "IL", "IN", "IA", "KS", "KY", "LA", "ME", "MD", "MA", "MI", "MN", "MS", "MO", "MT", "NE", "NV", "NH", "NJ", "NM", "NY", "NC", "ND", "OH", "OK", "OR", "PA", "RI", "SC", "SD", "TN", "TX", "UT", "VT", "VA", "WA", "WV", "WI", "WY" ], "type": "string", "description": "Filter by US state (two-letter code).", "default": "" }, "apiKey": { "title": "FEC API Key", "type": "string", "description": "Optional FEC API key from api.data.gov for higher rate limits. Defaults to DEMO_KEY (30 req/min, 50 req/day)." }, "maxItems": { "title": "Max Items", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 5000, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of records to return.", "default": 50 } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```