CandiData is a repository of social media accounts belonging to U.S. political candidates and their campaigns.
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Currently, our dataset contains data on:
Presidential Nominees
Federal candidates across all 50 U.S. states and territories
State Candidates
Why is the CandiData database important?
Over the past two decades, social media has become an integral part of the U.S. information ecosystem and, by extension, pivotal spaces for discussion during an election.
For politicians and political campaigns, platforms are essential for engaging with different voting blocs, promoting events, and raising funds. To do so, politicians take a multi-faceted approach by producing advertisements and organic content across social media platforms.
The cumulative consequences of this cannot be understated: during an election year, with democratic institutions at stake, it is imperative that journalists, civil society, and researchers have the resources and infrastructure necessary to report on politicians’ discourse.
How did we collect this data?
The Center for Tech and Civic Life, as a CandiData partner, collected candidate and handle data across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, and YouTube. A team of CandiData research assistants collected additional handle data for TikTok, Getter, Rumble, Telegram, and Truth Social, pulling links from politicians’ office and campaign websites, and/or through search.
Our data contains handles for office accounts (for incumbents) and campaign accounts (for all candidates).
A team of staff members, including partners at The Carter Center, validated each handle surfaced by a research assistant.
Additional data, such as FCC FIPS codes, FEC data, and DW-NOMINATE scores were integrated into the data.
CANDIDATA24 Partners
