---
name: candidate-research
description: Looks up 2026 campaign finance totals (money raised, money spent, cash on hand) for federal candidates using FEC data. Use when the user asks how much candidates in a race have raised, wants a fundraising update on a candidate, or wants to compare candidates' money.
---

# Candidate Research

Get the numbers by running `scripts/money.py`, which is in the same folder as this file. Don't look the numbers up any other way, and don't estimate them.

If the script says the API key is missing or wasn't accepted, stop. Tell the user to open `scripts/money.py` and paste their FEC API key on the `API_KEY` line. Don't edit the key yourself.