Using the same committee for another election
A candidate’s principal campaign committee from a previous election can be redesignated for a future election as an alternative to terminating the committee or creating a new committee for the new election. To redesignate the committee, the candidate must file an amended Statement of Candidacy, Form 2, for the new election year and disclose the committee as the principal campaign committee. If the candidate redesignates an existing committee, the committee need only amend its Statement of Organization, Form 1, within 10 days to reflect any new information, in addition to amending the Form 2. Electronic filers must file complete amendments to Forms 1 and 2, while paper filers may submit partial amendments reflecting the changes to the information.
After the redesignation for the new election cycle, the committee remains responsible for resolving any outstanding obligations, such as debts and unrefunded impermissible contributions, from the previous election cycle. The committee must also address Requests for Additional Information relating to the prior election cycle.
Any testing-the-waters activity for the new election cycle must be disclosed in the committee’s reports with the appropriate election designations or memo text.
While considering whether to run in a future election, a candidate’s existing principal campaign committee from a previous election can remain open by continuing to file all regularly scheduled reports.
Please note that a committee that has been terminated cannot be reactivated. In that case, the candidate would need to create and register a new committee for the new election cycle.
Reporting on candidate forms
Amending the Statement of Candidacy
Within 15 days of becoming a candidate for the new election cycle, the candidate must amend their Statement of Candidacy, Form 2, to reflect the new election year and any other changes, including the new office sought, state, and district, if applicable. The name of the principal campaign committee that is being redesignated for the new election must be disclosed on Line 7.
Learn more about filing and amending the statement of candidacy
If the candidate is running for the same office in the new election cycle as in the previous cycle (for example, a House or Senate seat in the same state), the same candidate FEC identification number should be used on the amended Form 2, Line 2. If the candidate is running in a different state or for a different federal office, the candidate must file a new Statement of Candidacy, Form 2, and should not use the FEC identification number assigned for the previous election cycle. Upon receipt of the new Form 2, the candidate will be assigned a new candidate FEC identification number.
Amending the Statement of Organization
The Statement of Organization Form 1 must be amended within 10 days to reflect any changes to the candidate’s information, such as office sought, state, and district, on Line 5, in addition to any other updates. The same committee FEC identification number should be used on the amended Form 1, Line 3, as on the committee’s original Form 1, since that identification number is permanently assigned to the committee and does not change.
Reporting with Webforms
To amend a Statement of Candidacy, go to the online webform and select “Amended.” Enter the committee’s FEC ID and electronic filing password. Select the candidate’s most recent Form 2 from the list. Update any fields with new information and click “Submit” to upload the form to the FEC.
Select "Amended" to update the Statement of Candidacy.
To amend a Statement of Organization, go to the online webform and select “Amended.” Enter the committee’s FEC ID and electronic filing password. Select the committee’s most recent Form 1 from the list. Update any fields with new information and click “Submit” to upload the form to the FEC.
Select "Amended" to update the Statement of Organization.
Reporting with FECFile
To amend a Statement of Candidacy, go to the Reports tab, click on the existing Statement of Candidacy in the list, right click on the report and select “amend.”
To amend a Statement of Organization, go to the Reports tab, click on the existing Statement of Organization in the list, right click on the report and select “amend.”
