FEC Campaign Finance Scraper: Donors & Committees

Here is one real result, with every field the actor returns in contributions mode:

{
  "transactionId": "IA2512",
  "subId": "4121220241075839599",
  "committeeId": "C00406892",
  "committeeName": "APPLIED MATERIALS, INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE",
  "committeeType": "PAC - Qualified",
  "contributorName": "WERNER, JOSEPH",
  "contributorFirstName": "JOSEPH",
  "contributorLastName": "WERNER",
  "contributorEmployer": "APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.",
  "contributorOccupation": "DIR., APPLICATION TECHNOLOGY",
  "contributorCity": "SANTA CLARA",
  "contributorState": "CA",
  "contributorZip": "95054",
  "entityType": "INDIVIDUAL",
  "isIndividual": true,
  "contributionReceiptAmount": 57.69,
  "contributionReceiptDate": null,
  "contributorAggregateYtd": 461.52,
  "electionType": "P",
  "fecElectionYear": null,
  "receiptType": "CONTRIBUTION",
  "memoCode": null,
  "memoText": null,
  "candidateId": null,
  "candidateName": null,
  "candidateOffice": null,
  "candidateOfficeState": null,
  "candidateOfficeDistrict": null,
  "twoYearTransactionPeriod": 2024,
  "reportType": "30G",
  "filingForm": "F3X",
  "imageNumber": "202411269720049014",
  "pdfUrl": "https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202411269720049014",
  "url": "https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00406892/",
  "observedAt": "2026-08-10T14:18:20.127Z",
  "error": null
}

The most complete FEC campaign finance scraper available. It returns every field the OpenFEC data exposes for itemized donor contributions, candidates, and committees, including donor employer and occupation, receipt amounts and dates, and links to the source filing image, and gives you three data modes plus a full set of filters to target exactly the records you need.

📥 Input · 📤 Output · 💰 Pricing · ▶️ Examples

Table of contents

• What it does
• Quickstart
• Input reference
• Output reference
• Example output record
• Run via API and CLI
• Fetch results
• Billing and limits
• FAQ and troubleshooting

What it does

The actor queries US Federal Election Commission (OpenFEC) data in one of three modes and writes one normalized record per result to the run's dataset:

• contributions returns itemized individual donor records: name, employer, occupation, city/state/ZIP, receipt amount and date, year-to-date aggregate, the receiving committee, and links to the source filing image.
• candidates returns candidates with office, party, state and total receipts and disbursements.
• committees returns committees with type, treasurer and filing contacts.

You pass an OpenFEC API key (the free DEMO_KEY works for testing but is heavily rate limited) and any of the filters below. Missing source values are returned as null, never invented.

Quickstart

Open the actor, paste this into the input, and press Run. It returns 10 itemized contributions from the 2024 cycle using the demo key.

{
  "mode": "contributions",
  "apiKey": "DEMO_KEY",
  "twoYearTransactionPeriod": 2024,
  "maxRecords": 10
}

For production volume, get a free key at api.data.gov/signup and pass it as apiKey. For contributions, a transaction period, committee, or contributor filter is strongly recommended to keep the query fast.

Input reference

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
mode	enum	no	contributions	What to scrape: contributions (Schedule A donor records), candidates, or committees.
apiKey	string	no	DEMO_KEY	Your api.data.gov / OpenFEC API key. DEMO_KEY is heavily rate limited (about 30 requests/hour).
maxRecords	integer	no	10	Maximum records to collect. Free Apify plans are capped at 10 per run.
search	string	no	(empty)	Free-text search. Matches contributor name in contributions, and the name in candidates/committees.
twoYearTransactionPeriod	integer	no	2024	Even-numbered election cycle for contributions (2024 covers 2023-2024). Scopes and speeds the search.
committeeId	string	no	(empty)	FEC committee ID that received the contributions, for example C00401224.
contributorState	string	no	(empty)	Two-letter US state of the donor, for example CA.
contributorEmployer	string	no	(empty)	Filter contributions by the donor's reported employer.
contributorOccupation	string	no	(empty)	Filter contributions by the donor's reported occupation.
minDate	string	no	(empty)	Earliest contribution receipt date (YYYY-MM-DD).
maxDate	string	no	(empty)	Latest contribution receipt date (YYYY-MM-DD).
minAmount	integer	no	(none)	Only contributions of at least this many USD.
maxAmount	integer	no	(none)	Only contributions of at most this many USD.
office	enum	no	(any)	Candidate office: H (House), S (Senate), P (President). Applies to candidates.
candidateState	string	no	(empty)	Two-letter US state the candidate is running in. Applies to candidates.
party	string	no	(empty)	Three-letter party code, for example DEM, REP, IND. Applies to candidates.
electionYear	integer	no	(none)	Year the candidate is or was on the ballot. Applies to candidates.
committeeType	enum	no	(any)	Committee type code (for example O for Super PAC). Applies to committees.
committeeState	string	no	(empty)	Two-letter US state of the committee. Applies to committees.

Filters combine with logical AND. Filters outside the selected mode are ignored.

Output reference

Fields depend on mode. The table below is contributions mode (the default). Types: string, number, integer, boolean, or null when the source value is absent.

Field	Type	Description
transactionId	string	FEC transaction ID.
subId	string	OpenFEC unique sub ID for the record.
committeeId	string	ID of the committee that received the contribution.
committeeName	string	Name of the receiving committee.
committeeType	string	Human-readable committee type.
contributorName	string	Donor name as filed.
contributorFirstName	string	Donor first name, or null.
contributorLastName	string	Donor last name, or null.
contributorEmployer	string	Donor reported employer, or null.
contributorOccupation	string	Donor reported occupation, or null.
contributorCity	string	Donor city.
contributorState	string	Donor two-letter state.
contributorZip	string	Donor ZIP code.
entityType	string	Filer entity type, for example INDIVIDUAL.
isIndividual	boolean	true when the contributor is an individual.
contributionReceiptAmount	number	Contribution amount in USD.
contributionReceiptDate	string	Receipt date (YYYY-MM-DD) when reported, else null.
contributorAggregateYtd	number	Donor year-to-date aggregate to the committee, or null.
electionType	string	Election type code, for example P (primary), G (general).
fecElectionYear	integer	FEC election year when reported, else null.
receiptType	string	Receipt type, for example CONTRIBUTION.
memoCode	string	Memo code when present, else null.
memoText	string	Memo text when present, else null.
candidateId	string	Linked candidate ID when present, else null.
candidateName	string	Linked candidate name, or null.
candidateOffice	string	Linked candidate office, or null.
candidateOfficeState	string	Linked candidate office state, or null.
candidateOfficeDistrict	string	Linked candidate office district, or null.
twoYearTransactionPeriod	integer	Election cycle the transaction falls in.
reportType	string	Report type code, for example 30G.
filingForm	string	Filing form, for example F3X.
imageNumber	string	FEC filing image number.
pdfUrl	string	Link to the source filing image on docquery.fec.gov.
url	string	FEC.gov page for the committee.
observedAt	string	ISO 8601 timestamp of when the record was collected.
error	string	null on success. On a failed run, a single item with a populated error field is written instead.

In candidates mode records carry candidate identity, office, party, state and total receipts/disbursements; in committees mode they carry committee identity, type, treasurer and filing contacts.

Example output record

Real record from a live run (input {"mode": "contributions", "apiKey": "DEMO_KEY", "twoYearTransactionPeriod": 2024, "maxRecords": 10}):

{
  "transactionId": "IA2512",
  "subId": "4121220241075839599",
  "committeeId": "C00406892",
  "committeeName": "APPLIED MATERIALS, INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE",
  "committeeType": "PAC - Qualified",
  "contributorName": "WERNER, JOSEPH",
  "contributorFirstName": "JOSEPH",
  "contributorLastName": "WERNER",
  "contributorEmployer": "APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.",
  "contributorOccupation": "DIR., APPLICATION TECHNOLOGY",
  "contributorCity": "SANTA CLARA",
  "contributorState": "CA",
  "contributorZip": "95054",
  "entityType": "INDIVIDUAL",
  "isIndividual": true,
  "contributionReceiptAmount": 57.69,
  "contributionReceiptDate": null,
  "contributorAggregateYtd": 461.52,
  "electionType": "P",
  "fecElectionYear": null,
  "receiptType": "CONTRIBUTION",
  "memoCode": null,
  "memoText": null,
  "candidateId": null,
  "candidateName": null,
  "candidateOffice": null,
  "candidateOfficeState": null,
  "candidateOfficeDistrict": null,
  "twoYearTransactionPeriod": 2024,
  "reportType": "30G",
  "filingForm": "F3X",
  "imageNumber": "202411269720049014",
  "pdfUrl": "https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?202411269720049014",
  "url": "https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00406892/",
  "observedAt": "2026-08-10T14:18:20.127Z",
  "error": null
}

Run via API and CLI

Start a run and wait for it to finish, then read the dataset. Replace <TOKEN> with your Apify API token.

Run synchronously and get dataset items in one call:

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/scrapers_lat~fec-campaign-finance-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<TOKEN>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"mode":"contributions","apiKey":"DEMO_KEY","twoYearTransactionPeriod":2024,"contributorState":"CA","maxRecords":25}'

Start a run asynchronously:

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/scrapers_lat~fec-campaign-finance-scraper/runs?token=<TOKEN>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"mode":"committees","apiKey":"<YOUR_FEC_KEY>","committeeType":"O","maxRecords":100}'

Apify CLI:

apify call scrapers_lat/fec-campaign-finance-scraper \
  --input '{"mode":"candidates","office":"P","electionYear":2024,"maxRecords":10}'

Fetch results

Every run writes to a dataset. Fetch items as JSON, CSV, or Excel by changing format:

# JSON
curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/datasets/<DATASET_ID>/items?token=<TOKEN>&clean=true&format=json"

# CSV
curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/datasets/<DATASET_ID>/items?token=<TOKEN>&clean=true&format=csv"

# Paginate large datasets
curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/datasets/<DATASET_ID>/items?token=<TOKEN>&offset=1000&limit=1000"

<DATASET_ID> is returned as defaultDatasetId in the run object. Use offset and limit to page through large result sets. clean=true drops empty and internal fields.

Billing and limits

• Pay per result. You are charged per record returned (result event). See the pricing tab for the current per-result price.
• No charge on failure. If a run errors, the actor writes a single item with a populated error field and does not charge for it. Empty runs cost nothing.
• Spend cap respected. Set maxTotalChargeUsd on the run; once reached, the actor stops emitting and charging further billable results.
• Free Apify plans are capped at 10 records per run. Upgrade for higher maxRecords.
• OpenFEC rate limits. The default DEMO_KEY is limited to roughly 30 requests per hour. Use your own free api.data.gov key for production volume.

FAQ and troubleshooting

A run returned 0 records. Why? The filters matched nothing, or the query was too broad and timed out on the demo key. Narrow it (add a committee, contributor, or cycle filter) or use your own API key. Zero-result runs are not charged.

Do I need my own API key? Not for testing. DEMO_KEY works but is heavily rate limited. For real volume, get a free key at api.data.gov and pass it as apiKey.

Why is contributionReceiptDate null? Not every itemized record in OpenFEC carries a receipt date. Missing source values are returned as null, never invented.

How do I find a committee ID? Run the actor in committees mode (optionally with a search term) to look up committees and their IDs, then filter contributions by committeeId.

Is this an official FEC tool? No. This actor is independent and has no affiliation with the FEC. It reads only data that is publicly available through the OpenFEC API. Use it in accordance with the OpenFEC terms of service.

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Independent tool, not affiliated with the FEC. Accesses only publicly available OpenFEC data. Use in accordance with the OpenFEC terms of service.