fec_candidate_search
Search federal candidates (President, House, Senate) by name, state, office, or party using FEC data. Returns candidate IDs needed for the other FEC tools.
This record as markdown: /tools/io-github-blackboxfoundry-livedatalink/fec-candidate-search.md
What fec_candidate_search does on Livedatalink
AI agents call fec_candidate_search to retrieve information from Livedatalink without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
cycle | number | — | Two-year election cycle (even year, e.g. 2024). Optional. |
limit | number | — | Maximum candidates to return (default 20, max 100). |
party | string | — | Party code (e.g. 'DEM', 'REP', 'IND', 'LIB'). Optional. |
query | string | — | Candidate name fragment (e.g. 'Warren', 'Smith'). Optional. |
state | string | — | Two-letter state code to filter by (e.g. 'MA', 'TX'). Optional. |
office | string | — | Office: 'P' (President), 'S' (Senate), or 'H' (House). Optional. |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
Why fec_candidate_search is rated Low
Even though fec_candidate_search only reads data, uncontrolled read access leaks sensitive information and racks up API costs: an agent caught in a retry loop can make thousands of calls a minute without anyone noticing.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs fec_candidate_search safely
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and Livedatalink, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For fec_candidate_search, this is the rule to start with:
fec_candidate_search is read-only, so it stays allowed. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
The button opens the PolicyLayer dashboard: create your workspace, connect Livedatalink, apply this rule, and every fec_candidate_search call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about fec_candidate_search
Search federal candidates (President, House, Senate) by name, state, office, or party using FEC data. Returns candidate IDs needed for the other FEC tools. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Livedatalink MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
fec_candidate_search accepts 6 parameters: cycle, limit, party, query, state, office. The full parameter table on this page comes from the server's own tool schema.
Register the Livedatalink MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for fec_candidate_search: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches Livedatalink. Nothing to install.
fec_candidate_search is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the fec_candidate_search rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for fec_candidate_search. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.
fec_candidate_search is provided by the Livedatalink MCP server (https://livedatalink.ai/mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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