# FEC API: Search federal candidates > Lists federal candidates for an office and election year from FEC data, ranked by total money raised. Senate and House searches require a state; a House search can be narrowed to one district. Unofficial. Not affiliated with or endorsed by FEC. - Page: https://fous.com/methods/fec.gov/search-candidates - Method: `fec.gov/search_candidates`, version 1 - Website: fec.gov - Returns: candidate name, party, state, district, incumbency, status, total raised, cash on hand, coverage end date, FEC URL - Effect: read (it gets data and changes nothing) - Sign-in: none needed - Cost: 1 credit per completed run (1¢ with pay as you go); failed runs are free - Verified: Nov 2, 2026 ## Inputs | Field | Type | Required | In the run below | Description | |---|---|---|---|---| | `state` | string | no | `"Texas"` | State or territory name or two-letter code, for example Texas or TX. Required for Senate and House. | | `office` | string | yes | `"senate"` | Federal office to search, for example house. One of "president", "senate", "house". | | `district` | integer | no | | House district number, for example 12. Use 0 for an at-large district. | | `max_results` | integer | no | `5` | Maximum candidates to return, for example 50. Default 50. | | `election_year` | integer | yes | `2026` | Election year, for example 2026. | | `raised_money_only` | string | no | | Use yes to include only candidates who have raised money; use no for all candidates. For example yes. One of "yes", "no". Default "yes". | ## Output From a run on Oct 31, 2026, shortened. Its input: ```json { "state": "Texas", "office": "senate", "max_results": 5, "election_year": 2026 } ``` Its output: ```json { "candidates": [ { "party": "DEMOCRATIC PARTY", "state": "Texas", "district": null, "incumbency": "Challenger", "candidate_id": "S6TX00479", "candidate_url": "https://www.fec.gov/data/candidate/S6TX00479/?cycle=2026", "candidate_name": "TALARICO, JAMES", "candidate_status": "Present candidate", "cash_on_hand_usd": 21548155.08, "total_raised_usd": 68560930.42, "coverage_end_date": "2026-06-30" }, { "party": "REPUBLICAN PARTY", "state": "Texas", "district": null, "incumbency": "Incumbent", "candidate_id": "S2TX00106", "candidate_url": "https://www.fec.gov/data/candidate/S2TX00106/?cycle=2026", "candidate_name": "CORNYN, JOHN SEN", "candidate_status": "Present candidate", "cash_on_hand_usd": 542119.97, "total_raised_usd": 14261513.59, "coverage_end_date": "2026-06-30" }, { "party": "DEMOCRATIC PARTY", "state": "Texas", "district": null, "incumbency": "Challenger", "candidate_id": "S6TX00552", "candidate_url": "https://www.fec.gov/data/candidate/S6TX00552/?cycle=2026", "candidate_name": "CROCKETT, JASMINE", "candidate_status": "Present candidate", "cash_on_hand_usd": 0, "total_raised_usd": 11096965.96, "coverage_end_date": "2026-08-13" } ] } ``` ## Run it From code, with a Fous API key in `FOUS_API_KEY`; the answer's `data` holds the output: ```bash curl https://api.fous.com/v1/runs \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $FOUS_API_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"method":"fec.gov/search_candidates","input":{"state":"Texas","office":"senate","max_results":5,"election_year":2026}}' ``` From an AI agent connected to the Fous MCP server: its `run` with the same method and input. To connect one, give it `set up https://fous.com/SKILL.md`. ## Ask your agent - Who's running for the Senate in Arizona in 2026, and how much has each candidate raised so far? - Pull up the FEC list of House candidates for Texas's 28th district in the 2024 election, including the ones who haven't raised any money. - Top 10 fundraisers among 2024 presidential candidates, with their cash on hand and party - I need every candidate filed for Wyoming's at-large House seat in 2022 — party, incumbent or challenger, total receipts, and the date their reports cover through. - Using fec.gov data, show me the Georgia Senate race candidates for 2020 ranked by money raised, with links to their FEC pages. ## Input schema ```json { "type": "object", "required": [ "office", "election_year" ], "properties": { "state": { "type": "string", "description": "State or territory name or two-letter code, for example Texas or TX. Required for Senate and House." }, "office": { "enum": [ "president", "senate", "house" ], "type": "string", "description": "Federal office to search, for example house." }, "district": { "type": "integer", "maximum": 99, "minimum": 0, "description": "House district number, for example 12. Use 0 for an at-large district." }, "max_results": { "type": "integer", "default": 50, "maximum": 200, "minimum": 1, "description": "Maximum candidates to return, for example 50." }, "election_year": { "type": "integer", "maximum": 2100, "minimum": 1900, "description": "Election year, for example 2026." }, "raised_money_only": { "enum": [ "yes", "no" ], "type": "string", "default": "yes", "description": "Use yes to include only candidates who have raised money; use no for all candidates. For example yes." } } } ``` ## Output schema ```json { "type": "object", "required": [ "candidates" ], "properties": { "candidates": { "type": "array", "items": { "type": "object", "required": [ "candidate_name", "party", "state", "district", "incumbency", "candidate_status", "total_raised_usd", "cash_on_hand_usd", "coverage_end_date", "candidate_url", "candidate_id" ], "properties": { "party": { "type": [ "string", "null" ] }, "state": { "type": [ "string", "null" ] }, "district": { "type": [ "integer", "null" ] }, "incumbency": { "type": [ "string", "null" ] }, "candidate_id": { "type": [ "string", "null" ] }, "candidate_url": { "type": [ "string", "null" ] }, "candidate_name": { "type": [ "string", "null" ] }, "candidate_status": { "type": [ "string", "null" ] }, "cash_on_hand_usd": { "type": [ "number", "null" ] }, "total_raised_usd": { "type": [ "number", "null" ] }, "coverage_end_date": { "type": [ "string", "null" ] } }, "additionalProperties": false } } }, "additionalProperties": false } ``` ## See more - [FEC API: Get candidate fundraising](https://fous.com/methods/fec.gov/get-candidate-fundraising.md): Gets a federal candidate's fundraising and spending for a two-year FEC cycle. If several names match, returns the match with the most reported receipts. - [USAJOBS API: Search federal jobs](https://fous.com/methods/usajobs.gov/search-jobs.md): Searches USAJOBS federal jobs by keywords, location, salary threshold and applicant group, in website relevance order. Salary ranges may start below the threshold; annual pay or remote status is null when the announcement does not state it. - [Federal Register API: Search rules and notices](https://fous.com/methods/federalregister.gov/search-rules.md): Find Federal Register rules, proposed rules, notices, and presidential documents by topic, agency, publication dates, and comment status. Significant means designated significant by the source; documents without that designation show no. - [USAspending API: Search federal awards](https://fous.com/methods/usaspending.gov/search-federal-awards.md): Searches USAspending federal awards by keywords, awarding agency, state of performance and date across contracts, grants, loans and direct payments. Searches from October 1, 2007 onward. - [PolitiFact API: Search fact checks](https://fous.com/methods/politifact.com/search-fact-checks.md): Finds PolitiFact fact checks matching a claim, topic, or person, newest first. An exact person match returns that person's checked statements; otherwise fact-check text is searched. An optional Truth-O-Meter rating filters the results. - [FDA API: Search food recalls](https://fous.com/methods/open.fda.gov/search-food-recalls.md): Finds FDA food recall enforcement reports by product, brand, or allergen, newest first. Reports are updated weekly and recall statuses may lag. - [SEC EDGAR API: Search filings by phrase](https://fous.com/methods/sec.gov/search-filings.md): Finds SEC EDGAR company filings that mention an exact phrase, optionally limited to a company, a filing category and a filing date range, ranked by search relevance; one entry per filing. - [Grants.gov API: Search grant opportunities](https://fous.com/methods/grants.gov/search-grants.md): Finds U.S. federal grant opportunities by topic, agency, applicant type and status, with funding and eligibility details. Open results exclude opportunities whose closing date has passed. - [All FEC methods](https://fous.com/methods/fec.gov.md)