openfec.candidate_search

beta Advanced

Search FEC candidates by name.

GET /v1/openfec/candidate_search

What you get#

A list of Openfec results in Onekey's unified shape, in data (an array). An empty array is a normal, successful answer and is charged like any other; a source that reports "nothing found" as an error returns a free 404 not_found instead.

What it costs#

Advanced · 5 credits for a fresh fetch, charged only when it succeeds.
Free when served from cache (0.2 credit for a cached response over 100 KB).
Free if the request is invalid (never charged) or the source fails or reports not found (refunded).

Parameters#

Name	Type	Required	Default	What it is	Constraints
`q`	string	yes	(required)	Search text	max 80 chars; must match `[\w .,'&+:()-]{1,80}`; trimmed, repeated spaces collapsed
`per_page`	string	no	`20`	Rows (1-100)	max 3 chars; must match `[1-9]\d?\|100`; trimmed

Request#

curl "https://api.onekey.dev/v1/openfec/candidate_search?q=biden&per_page=3" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Try it

Add your key to run this call right here. No key? Get one free. The key stays in this tab.

Recorded response#

A real Openfec response, recorded and returned in Onekey's shape. Fields the platform does not provide are null.

json

{
  "success": true,
  "data": [
    {
      "entity": {
        "id": "P60012143",
        "name": "BIDEN, JOE R",
        "category": "DEMOCRATIC PARTY",
        "status": "US"
      },
      "ext": {
        "office": "President",
        "status": "N",
        "electionYears": [
          2016
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "entity": {
        "id": "P80000722",
        "name": "BIDEN, JOSEPH R JR",
        "category": "DEMOCRATIC PARTY",
        "status": "US"
      },
      "ext": {
        "office": "President",
        "status": "P",
        "electionYears": [
          1988,
          2008,
          2020,
          2024
        ]
      }
    }
  ],
  "metadata": {
    "platform": "openfec",
    "endpoint": "candidate_search",
    "cached": false,
    "stale": false,
    "age_s": 0,
    "fetched_at": "2026-01-01T12:00:00+00:00",
    "credits_charged": 5,
    "request_id": "7f3a9c2e5b1d4c8fa2e6d0b9c4f18e37"
  },
  "error": null
}

Field mapping#

How this endpoint's source fields become Onekey's unified schema. Fields the source lacks come back as null.

Source path	Onekey field	Transform
`candidate_id`	`entity.id`	-
`name`	`entity.name`	-
`party_full`	`entity.category`	-
`office_full`	`ext.office`	-
`state`	`entity.status`	-
`candidate_status`	`ext.status`	-
`election_years`	`ext.electionYears`	-

Caching and freshness#

Fresh for about 2 minutes. Repeat calls in that window are served from cache and are free.
Between 2 minutes and 15 minutes the cached copy is still served instantly and marked stale: true while Onekey refreshes it in the background.
If the source is down when a refresh is needed, the last copy can be served for up to 1 hour more (marked stale).
A "not found" is remembered for 1 minute and is free.
The cache is shared across all customers, which is what keeps repeat calls cheap.

What can go wrong#

Status	Code	What to do
401	`unauthorized`	Check the `x-api-key` header.
402	`insufficient_credits`	Add credits; your balance must cover the price.
404	`not_found`	Unknown endpoint path.
422	`invalid_params`	Fix the parameters using the table above. Free.
429	`rate_limited`	Wait `Retry-After` seconds, then retry.
502	`upstream_error`	The source failed. Refunded; retry with backoff.

See Errors for the full list and retry guidance.

Status: beta (not yet verified against the live source).