FEC Campaign Spending Scraper

Track where campaign money goes, not just where it comes from.

While other FEC actors focus on contributions (who donated to campaigns), this scraper reveals the other side of the equation: how campaigns and political committees actually spend their money. Follow vendor payments, consulting fees, ad buys, and Super PAC expenditures to understand the full picture of political finance.

Why This Actor Exists

Most campaign finance tools answer "Who donated?" But journalists, researchers, and political professionals often need to answer different questions:

• Which media consultants are getting the biggest contracts?
• What vendors does a campaign rely on?
• How much is a Super PAC spending to oppose a candidate?
• Is a committee burning through cash or building reserves?

This actor provides that spending-side data directly from the FEC's official API.

Three Modes of Operation

1. Disbursements (Schedule B)

Track itemized campaign expenditures - every vendor payment over $200 that campaigns must report.

Use cases:

• Find all payments to a specific vendor (media consultants, pollsters, law firms)
• Track a campaign's spending patterns over time
• Identify the biggest expense categories

Example output:

{
  "committee_name": "Biden for President",
  "recipient_name": "MEDIA BUYING LLC",
  "disbursement_amount": 2500000,
  "disbursement_date": "2024-10-15",
  "disbursement_description": "MEDIA PLACEMENT",
  "disbursement_purpose_category": "ADVERTISING"
}

2. Independent Expenditures (Schedule E)

Track Super PAC spending for or against specific candidates. This is where the big money in modern campaigns flows - outside groups spending millions on ads and outreach.

Use cases:

• Monitor Super PAC activity targeting a candidate
• Track which candidates attract the most outside spending
• Identify the vendors producing attack ads
• Analyze support vs. oppose spending patterns

Example output:

{
  "committee_name": "American Crossroads",
  "candidate_name": "SMITH, JOHN",
  "support_oppose": "Oppose",
  "expenditure_amount": 1500000,
  "expenditure_description": "TV ADVERTISING",
  "payee_name": "TARGETED VICTORY"
}

3. Committee Totals

Get financial summaries showing cash on hand, total raised vs. spent, and debt levels. Essential for understanding a committee's financial health at a glance.

Use cases:

• Compare fundraising vs. spending burn rates
• Track cash-on-hand over election cycles
• Identify committees in financial trouble (high debt, low cash)

Example output:

{
  "committee_name": "DNC Services Corp",
  "cycle": 2024,
  "receipts": 250000000,
  "disbursements": 230000000,
  "cash_on_hand_end_period": 45000000,
  "debts_owed_by_committee": 5000000
}

Who Uses This Data

Investigative Journalists Follow the money on political spending stories. Track which consultants get rich off campaigns, identify unusual vendor relationships, and monitor dark money flows through Super PACs.

Political Consultants Competitive intelligence on opposition spending. See which vendors your competitors use, track their ad buy timing, and understand their resource allocation.

Compliance Teams Monitor PAC spending that mentions your organization or executives. Track required disclosures and ensure accurate reporting.

Academic Researchers Build datasets for campaign finance studies. Analyze spending patterns across cycles, study the consulting industry, or research Super PAC effectiveness.

Campaigns & Political Organizations Track outside spending in your races. Monitor how Super PACs are positioning for or against candidates. Identify potential vendor partners based on track records.

Getting Started

1. Get Your Free API Key

Visit api.data.gov/signup to get a free FEC API key. The DEMO_KEY works for testing but has stricter rate limits.

2. Configure Your Search

Required inputs:

• apiKey - Your API key from api.data.gov
• mode - Choose disbursements, independent-expenditures, or committee-totals

Optional filters:

• committeeId - FEC Committee ID (e.g., C00703975 for ActBlue)
• candidateId - FEC Candidate ID for independent expenditure tracking
• recipientName - Filter disbursements by payment recipient
• twoYearPeriod - Election cycle (e.g., 2024)
• minAmount / maxAmount - Dollar amount range
• supportOppose - Filter independent expenditures by support/oppose
• maxResults - Limit number of records (default: 100, max: 10000)

3. Run and Export

Results are pushed to the dataset in real-time. Export as JSON, CSV, or Excel for further analysis.

Example Use Cases

"Find all Super PAC spending against Senator Smith in 2024"

mode: independent-expenditures
candidateId: S0XX00001
twoYearPeriod: 2024
supportOppose: oppose

"Track ActBlue's vendor payments over $100,000"

mode: disbursements
committeeId: C00401224
minAmount: 100000

"Get financial summary for the DCCC"

mode: committee-totals
committeeId: C00000935

Data Source

All data comes directly from the FEC's official API, ensuring accuracy and compliance with federal disclosure requirements. Data is updated as committees file their reports, typically monthly or quarterly depending on the reporting period.

Pricing

This actor uses pay-per-result pricing. You are charged for each spending record retrieved. Check the actor's pricing tab for current rates.

Related Keywords

Campaign spending tracker, FEC disbursements, Super PAC spending, independent expenditures, political spending data, Schedule B, Schedule E, campaign finance API, political vendor payments, PAC monitoring, campaign finance research, political ad spending, dark money tracking, opposition research data.