# Texas Campaign Finance (`weighty_suona/texas-campaign-finance`) Actor This Apify actor extracts public campaign finance data from the Texas Division of Elections Campaign Finance Database. Search for contributions and expenditures by candidate name, committee name (PACs, parties), or contributor/donor name. - **URL**: https://apify.com/weighty\_suona/texas-campaign-finance.md - **Developed by:** [Andrew Goodrich](https://apify.com/weighty_suona) (community) - **Categories:** News, Integrations, Other - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $0.50 / 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 ## Texas Campaign Finance Scraper Extract campaign finance data from the [Texas Ethics Commission](https://www.ethics.state.tx.us/search/cf/). Search contributions and expenditures by candidate name, committee name, or donor name. ### Features | Feature | Description | |---------|-------------| | **Simple Search** | One search box for candidates, committees, or donors | | **Search Type** | Filter by Donations, Expenditures, or Both | | **Category Filter** | Narrow to Candidates, Committees (PACs/Parties), or Contributors (Donors) | | **Sort Results** | Best Match, Date (Newest/Oldest), Amount (Highest/Lowest) | | **Election Year** | Select any election cycle from 2000 to present | | **Pagination** | Automatically handles multi-page results | ### Pricing | Records Retrieved | Approximate Cost | |-------------------|------------------| | 100 records | ~$0.10 | | 1,000 records | ~$1.00 | | 10,000 records | ~$10.00 | Costs are calculated per dataset item returned. Pay only for the data you extract. ### Input Parameters | Parameter | Required | Description | |-----------|----------|-------------| | **Search Query** | Yes | Candidate name, committee name, or donor name. Examples: 'Abbott', 'Texas Republican Party', 'Smith' | | **Max Items** | No | Max records to retrieve. Default: 1,000. Range: 1-10,000 | | **Search Type** | No | `donations`, `expenditures`, or `combined` (default) | | **Category** | No | `candidates`, `committees`, or `contributors` (default: `candidates`) | | **Sort By** | No | `bestMatch` (default), `dateDesc`, `dateAsc`, `amountDesc`, `amountAsc` | | **Election Year** | No | Election cycle. Default: `All`. Options: 2000-2026 | ### How to Search | What You're Looking For | Search Query | Category | Example | |------------------------|--------------|----------|---------| | Contributions to a candidate | "Abbott" | Candidates | "Abbott" | | Donations from a person/company | "Smith" or "AT&T" | Contributors | "Smith" | | PAC spending | "Republican Party" | Committees | "Texas Republican Party" | | All activity in an election year | "Candidate Name" | Candidates | 2024 | ### Output Format Each record in the Apify dataset: ```json { "date": "2024-01-15", "amount": 5000, "amountRaw": "5,000.00", "recordType": "Contribution", "contributorName": "Smith, John", "recipientName": "Abbott, Greg", "searchQuery": "Abbott", "source": "Texas Ethics Commission" } ```` ### Data Source This actor scrapes the official Texas Ethics Commission Campaign Finance Database. All data is public record. ### Use Cases - **Political research** — Track campaign funding patterns - **Journalism** — Investigate political donations and spending - **Compliance monitoring** — Verify campaign finance reporting - **Academic research** — Study campaign finance trends in Texas - **Public transparency** — Make campaign finance data more accessible ### Performance - Uses Playwright headless browser for form-based data extraction - Texas opens results in a popup window which is captured automatically - Typical runtime: 10-30 seconds depending on result set size - Supports pagination for large result sets ### Support For issues or feature requests, please use the Issues tab on this Actor's page. # Actor input Schema ## `searchQuery` (type: `string`): Candidate name, committee name, or donor name. Examples: 'Abbott', 'Texas Republican Party', 'Smith' ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Max records (1-10000). ## `searchType` (type: `string`): Type of financial records ## `category` (type: `string`): Type of entity to search ## `sortBy` (type: `string`): Sort order ## `electionYear` (type: `string`): Election cycle ## Actor input object example ```json { "searchQuery": "Abbott", "maxItems": 1000, "searchType": "combined", "category": "candidates", "sortBy": "bestMatch", "electionYear": "All" } ``` # 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 = { "searchQuery": "Abbott" }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("weighty_suona/texas-campaign-finance").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 = { "searchQuery": "Abbott" } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("weighty_suona/texas-campaign-finance").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 '{ "searchQuery": "Abbott" }' | apify call weighty_suona/texas-campaign-finance --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=weighty_suona/texas-campaign-finance", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Texas Campaign Finance", "description": "This Apify actor extracts public campaign finance data from the Texas Division of Elections Campaign Finance Database. Search for contributions and expenditures by candidate name, committee name (PACs, parties), or contributor/donor name.", "version": "0.0", "x-build-id": "ag2P2bKibglY7JNnW" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/weighty_suona~texas-campaign-finance/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-weighty_suona-texas-campaign-finance", "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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/weighty_suona~texas-campaign-finance/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-weighty_suona-texas-campaign-finance", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/weighty_suona~texas-campaign-finance/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-weighty_suona-texas-campaign-finance", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": [ "searchQuery" ], "properties": { "searchQuery": { "title": "Search Query", "type": "string", "description": "Candidate name, committee name, or donor name. Examples: 'Abbott', 'Texas Republican Party', 'Smith'" }, "maxItems": { "title": "Max Items", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 10000, "type": "integer", "description": "Max records (1-10000).", "default": 1000 }, "searchType": { "title": "Search Type", "enum": [ "donations", "expenditures", "combined" ], "type": "string", "description": "Type of financial records", "default": "combined" }, "category": { "title": "Category", "enum": [ "candidates", "committees", "contributors" ], "type": "string", "description": "Type of entity to search", "default": "candidates" }, "sortBy": { "title": "Sort By", "enum": [ "bestMatch", "dateDesc", "dateAsc", "amountDesc", "amountAsc" ], "type": "string", "description": "Sort order", "default": "bestMatch" }, "electionYear": { "title": "Election Year", "enum": [ "All", "2026", "2024", "2022", "2020", "2018", "2016", "2014", "2012", "2010", "2008", "2006", "2004", "2002", "2000" ], "type": "string", "description": "Election cycle", "default": "All" } } }, "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 } } } } } } } } } } ```