The rules of the road

Welcome to The Candidate. By using this site you agree to the terms below. If you don’t agree, please don’t use the site. We’ve tried to write these terms in plain English; nothing here is meant to surprise you.

1. What this platform is

The Candidate is a non-partisan, public-facing directory of federal political candidates and races for President, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House. We are not a political party, a PAC, a campaign, a fundraising entity, or an election authority. We do not endorse any party or candidate.

2. Accuracy of data

Public candidate data is sourced from the FEC and other public records. We label every sourced fact with its source and the date we last verified it. Read our methodology for the full sourcing contract. We work hard to keep the data accurate, but we don’t guarantee that any specific fact is current at the moment you read it. If you find an error, email [email protected] and we’ll re-verify.

3. Acceptable use

You may use the site to read about candidates, claim a page if you are a candidate or part of an official campaign, and otherwise engage with the platform in good-faith civic ways. You may not:

• Scrape or bulk-download data outside what our public sitemap and APIs permit.
• Submit false or impersonating claims on candidate pages.
• Attempt to compromise the security, availability, or integrity of the platform.
• Use the site to harass, threaten, or defame other people.

4. Claims by candidates

Each candidate page has a “Claim this page” flow. By submitting a claim you certify that you are the candidate, an authorized representative of the official campaign, or have written permission from the campaign. Claims are reviewed by our admin team before any candidate-stated content goes live. We may decline a claim that we cannot verify.

5. Intellectual property

The Candidate name, logo, and original site copy are our property. Sourced facts from public records (FEC filings, candidate websites) are owned by their respective sources and used here under fair-use and public-record principles. If you submit candidate-stated content via a claim, you grant us a non-exclusive license to display that content on the candidate’s page.

6. Disclaimers

The site is provided “as is.” We don’t make warranties about uninterrupted availability, error-free operation, or fitness for a particular purpose. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we are not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of the site.

7. Account termination

We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms or applicable law. You can close your account at any time by emailing [email protected].

8. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, without reference to conflict-of-law principles. Disputes will be resolved in the state or federal courts located in Delaware, except where applicable consumer-protection laws of your state of residence require otherwise.

9. Changes

We’ll update the “last reviewed” date at the top of this page when we make changes. For substantive changes we’ll also email account holders.

10. Contact

Questions about these terms: [email protected]. General contact: /contact.