Candidate master file description
The candidate master file contains basic information for each candidate, including:
- Candidates who have filed a Statement of Candidacy (Form 2) for the upcoming election
- Candidates who have active campaign committees without regard to election year
- Candidates who are referenced as a part of a draft committee or a nonconnected committee that registers as supporting or opposing a particular candidate
The file shows the candidate's identification number, candidate’s name, party affiliation, election year, office state, office sought, district, incumbent/challenger status, status as a candidate, name of the candidate’s principal campaign committee, and address. The end-of-line (EOL) marker is line feed '\n' (LF, 0x0A, 10 in decimal).
Candidate master file format
| Column name | Field name | Position | Null | Data type | Description | Example data |
| CAND_ID | Candidate identification | 1 | N | VARCHAR2(9) | A 9-character alpha-numeric code assigned to a candidate by the Federal Election Commission. The candidate ID for a specific candidate remains the same across election cycles as long as the candidate is running for the same office. | H8VA01233 |
| CAND_NAME | Candidate name | 2 | Y | VARCHAR2(200) | Martha Washington | |
| CAND_PTY_AFFILIATION | Party affiliation | 3 | Y | VARCHAR2(3) | The political party affiliation reported by the candidate. For more information about political party affiliation codes see this list of political party codes |
NON |
| CAND_ELECTION_YR | Year of election | 4 | Y | Number(4) | Candidate's election year from a Statement of Candidacy or state ballot list | 2018 |
| CAND_OFFICE_ST | Candidate state | 5 | Y | VARCHAR2(2) |
House = state of race President = US Senate = state of race |
VA |
| CAND_OFFICE | Candidate office | 6 | Y | VARCHAR2(1) |
H = House P = President S = Senate |
H |
| CAND_OFFICE_DISTRICT | Candidate district | 7 | Y | VARCHAR2(2) |
Congressional district number Congressional at-large 00 Senate 00 Presidential 00 |
01 |
| CAND_ICI | Incumbent challenger status | 8 | Y | VARCHAR2(1) |
C = Challenger I = Incumbent O = Open Seat is used to indicate an open seat; Open seats are defined as seats where the incumbent never sought re-election. |
I |
| CAND_STATUS | Candidate status | 9 | Y | VARCHAR2(1) | C = Statutory candidate F = Statutory candidate for future election N = Not yet a statutory candidate P = Statutory candidate in prior cycle |
C |
| CAND_PCC | Principal campaign committee | 10 | Y | VARCHAR2(9) | The ID assigned by the Federal Election Commission to the candidate's principal campaign committee for a given election cycle. | C00100005 |
| CAND_ST1 | Mailing address - street | 11 | Y | VARCHAR2(34) | Mailing address - street | 1001 George Washington Hwy |
| CAND_ST2 | Mailing address - street2 | 12 | Y | VARCHAR2(34) | Mailing address - street2 | Suite 100 |
| CAND_CITY | Mailing address - city | 13 | Y | VARCHAR2(30) | Mailing address - city | Alexandria |
| CAND_ST | Mailing address - state | 14 | Y | VARCHAR2(2) | Mailing address - state | VA |
| CAND_ZIP | Mailing address - ZIP code | 15 | Y | VARCHAR2(9) | Mailing address - ZIP code | 22201 |