campaigns
We collect and organize data on filed campaigns for specific offices. This data is the primary unit of our electoral data graph.
Note: we consider the different stages in an election (e.g., primary, run-off, general) to be distinct elections with distinct campaigns. For example, as of March 26, 2024, Colin Allred has a single candidate_id but six distinct entries in this table with their own campaign_id values – covering two congressional primaries, one congressional run-off, two congressional general elections, and one (pending) U.S. Senate primary.
Column | Description |
|---|---|
campaign id | Unique ID associated with a given campaign |
candidate id | Unique ID associated with a candidate (i.e., the person whose candidacy is represented by a given campaign) |
district id | Unique ID associated with a specific political district. |
election id | Unique ID associated with a specific election (i.e., an event in which a jurisdiction elects candidates into specific offices). |
election date | The final day of voting for a given election in YYYY-MM-DD format. |
office name | The name of the office a given campaign is vying for in proper case. |
district name | The common name of the district a campaign associated with. |
name first | A candidate’s legal first name. |
name first alt | A candidate’s nickname, if applicable. |
name middle | A candidate’s middle name. |
name last | A candidate’s legal last name. |
name last alt | A candidate's alternate last name, if applicable. (Often a maiden name or a different presentation of a hyphenated name.) |
is incumbent | A boolean indicating whether the candidate is also the current office holder in this district. |
party affiliation | The candidate’s primary party affiliation. (Secondary ballot lines, such as the Working Families Party, do not create their own entries in our database.) |