#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""
FEC Bulk Data Downloader
Downloads all bulk data files from https://www.fec.gov/data/browse-data/?tab=bulk-data
and organizes them in a directory structure matching the FEC website.
Directory Structure (organized by FEC page categories):
D:/fec_data/ (or configurable base path)
├── bulk-downloads/
│ ├── candidate-master/
│ │ ├── 1980/cn80.zip
│ │ └── 2024/cn24.zip
│ ├── all-candidates/
│ │ ├── 1980/weball80.zip
│ │ └── 2024/weball24.zip
│ ├── house-senate-campaigns/
│ │ └── 2024/
│ │ ├── webk24.zip
│ │ └── webl24.zip
│ ├── committee-master/
│ │ └── 2024/cm24.zip
│ ├── pac-summary/
│ │ └── 2024/pas224.zip
│ ├── contributions-by-individuals/
│ │ └── 2024/indiv24.zip
│ ├── candidate-committee-linkages/
│ │ └── 2024/ccl24.zip
│ ├── committee-to-committee/
│ │ └── 2024/oth24.zip
│ ├── operating-expenditures/
│ │ └── 2024/oppexp24.zip
│ ├── summary-reports/
│ │ └── 2024/
│ │ ├── candidate_summary_2024.csv
│ │ ├── independent_expenditure_2024.csv
│ │ └── ...
│ ├── headers/
│ │ ├── cm_header_file.csv
│ │ └── ...
│ └── special-files/
│ ├── lobbyist.csv
│ └── ...
└── download_log.json
File Types:
- cm: Committee Master
- cn: Candidate Master
- ccl: Candidate-Committee Linkages
- indiv: Individual Contributions
- pas2: PAC Summary
- oth: Other Transactions
- oppexp: Operating Expenditures
- weball: All Candidates
- webk: Current House/Senate Campaigns
- webl: Current House/Senate Campaigns
Usage:
# Download everything (default: D:/fec_data/)
python bulk_download_fec.py
# Custom base directory
python bulk_download_fec.py --base-dir /mnt/d/fec_data
# Specific years only
python bulk_download_fec.py --years 2020,2022,2024
# Specific file types only
python bulk_download_fec.py --types indiv,cn,cm
# Resume interrupted download
python bulk_download_fec.py --resume
# Dry run (show what would be downloaded)
python bulk_download_fec.py --dry-run
"""
import argparse
import json
import requests
import sys
from pathlib import Path
from typing import Dict, List, Optional, Set
from datetime import datetime
from loguru import logger
import time
from bs4 import BeautifulSoup
from tqdm import tqdm
class FECBulkDownloader:
"""Download and organize FEC bulk data files"""
BASE_URL = "https://www.fec.gov"
BULK_DATA_URL = f"{BASE_URL}/data/browse-data/?tab=bulk-data"
# FEC Page Categories (matching website organization)
FILE_CATEGORIES = {
'cn': 'candidate-master',
'weball': 'all-candidates',
'webk': 'house-senate-campaigns',
'webl': 'house-senate-campaigns',
'cm': 'committee-master',
'pas2': 'pac-summary',
'indiv': 'contributions-by-individuals',
'ccl': 'candidate-committee-linkages',
'oth': 'committee-to-committee',
'oppexp': 'operating-expenditures',
}
# CSV file patterns (by year)
CSV_FILE_PATTERNS = [
'candidate_summary',
'committee_summary',
'independent_expenditure',
'CommunicationCosts',
'ElectioneeringComm',
'Form1Filer',
'Form2Filer',
'leadership',
]
# Header files (one-time downloads)
HEADER_FILES = [
'cm_header_file.csv',
'cn_header_file.csv',
'ccl_header_file.csv',
'indiv_header_file.csv',
'pas2_header_file.csv',
'oth_header_file.csv',
'oppexp_header_file.csv',
]
# Other special files
SPECIAL_FILES = [
'lobbyist.csv',
'lobbyist_bundle.csv',
'FalseFictitiousFilings.csv',
'Contributions_by_3Zip.csv',
'Contributions_by_Size.csv',
]
def __init__(self, base_dir: Path, resume: bool = False):
"""
Initialize FEC bulk downloader
Args:
base_dir: Base directory for downloads (e.g., D:/fec_data/)
resume: Resume interrupted downloads
"""
self.base_dir = Path(base_dir)
self.bulk_dir = self.base_dir / "bulk-downloads"
self.headers_dir = self.bulk_dir / "headers"
self.log_file = self.base_dir / "download_log.json"
self.resume = resume
# Create directories
self.base_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
self.bulk_dir.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
self.headers_dir.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
# Load download log
self.download_log = self._load_log()
# Session for HTTP requests
self.session = requests.Session()
self.session.headers.update({
'User-Agent': 'Mozilla/5.0 (FEC Bulk Downloader/1.0)'
})
def _load_log(self) -> Dict:
"""Load download log"""
if self.log_file.exists():
with open(self.log_file) as f:
return json.load(f)
return {
'started': datetime.now().isoformat(),
'last_updated': None,
'completed_files': {},
'failed_files': {},
}
def _save_log(self):
"""Save download log"""
self.download_log['last_updated'] = datetime.now().isoformat()
with open(self.log_file, 'w') as f:
json.dump(self.download_log, f, indent=2)
def _is_downloaded(self, url: str, dest_path: Path) -> bool:
"""Check if file is already downloaded"""
if not self.resume:
return False
if not dest_path.exists():
return False
# Check if in completed log
if url in self.download_log['completed_files']:
file_info = self.download_log['completed_files'][url]
if dest_path.stat().st_size == file_info.get('size', 0):
return True
return False
def _download_file(self, url: str, dest_path: Path, description: str) -> bool:
"""
Download a single file with progress bar
Args:
url: URL to download
dest_path: Destination file path
description: Description for progress bar
Returns:
True if successful, False otherwise
"""
if self._is_downloaded(url, dest_path):
logger.info(f"⏭️ Skipping (already downloaded): {dest_path.name}")
return True
try:
# Get file size
response = self.session.head(url, allow_redirects=True, timeout=30)
total_size = int(response.headers.get('content-length', 0))
# Download with progress bar
response = self.session.get(url, stream=True, timeout=60)
response.raise_for_status()
dest_path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
with open(dest_path, 'wb') as f:
with tqdm(
total=total_size,
unit='B',
unit_scale=True,
desc=description,
leave=False
) as pbar:
for chunk in response.iter_content(chunk_size=8192):
if chunk:
f.write(chunk)
pbar.update(len(chunk))
# Log success
self.download_log['completed_files'][url] = {
'path': str(dest_path),
'size': dest_path.stat().st_size,
'downloaded_at': datetime.now().isoformat(),
}
self._save_log()
logger.success(f"✅ Downloaded: {dest_path.name} ({total_size:,} bytes)")
return True
except Exception as e:
logger.error(f"❌ Failed to download {url}: {e}")
self.download_log['failed_files'][url] = {
'error': str(e),
'failed_at': datetime.now().isoformat(),
}
self._save_log()
return False
def discover_files(self) -> List[Dict[str, str]]:
"""
Discover all available files from FEC bulk data page
Returns:
List of dicts with 'url', 'path', 'type', 'year'
"""
logger.info("🔍 Discovering available files from FEC website...")
try:
response = self.session.get(self.BULK_DATA_URL, timeout=30)
response.raise_for_status()
soup = BeautifulSoup(response.text, 'html.parser')
files = []
# Find all download links
for link in soup.find_all('a', href=True):
href = link['href']
# Only process bulk-downloads links
if '/files/bulk-downloads/' not in href:
continue
url = f"{self.BASE_URL}{href}" if href.startswith('/') else href
filename = href.split('/')[-1]
# Parse file info
file_info = self._parse_file_info(href, filename)
if file_info:
files.append(file_info)
logger.info(f"📊 Found {len(files)} files to download")
return files
except Exception as e:
logger.error(f"❌ Failed to discover files: {e}")
return []
def _parse_file_info(self, href: str, filename: str) -> Optional[Dict]:
"""Parse file information from href"""
parts = href.split('/')
# Extract year from path
year = None
for part in parts:
if part.isdigit() and len(part) == 4:
year = part
break
# Determine file type and category
file_type = 'other'
category = 'other'
if filename in self.HEADER_FILES:
file_type = 'header'
category = 'headers'
dest_path = self.bulk_dir / 'headers' / filename
elif filename in self.SPECIAL_FILES:
file_type = 'special'
category = 'special-files'
dest_path = self.bulk_dir / 'special-files' / filename
elif year:
# Determine category based on file prefix
for prefix, cat in self.FILE_CATEGORIES.items():
if filename.startswith(prefix):
file_type = prefix
category = cat
break
# Check CSV patterns
for csv_pattern in self.CSV_FILE_PATTERNS:
if csv_pattern in filename:
file_type = csv_pattern
category = 'summary-reports'
break
# Organize by category, then year
dest_path = self.bulk_dir / category / year / filename
else:
dest_path = self.bulk_dir / 'other' / filename
url = f"{self.BASE_URL}{href}" if href.startswith('/') else href
return {
'url': url,
'path': dest_path,
'filename': filename,
'type': file_type,
'category': category,
'year': year,
}
def download_all(
self,
years: Optional[List[str]] = None,
file_types: Optional[List[str]] = None,
dry_run: bool = False
):
"""
Download all files
Args:
years: Optional list of years to download (e.g., ['2020', '2022'])
file_types: Optional list of file types (e.g., ['indiv', 'cm'])
dry_run: If True, only show what would be downloaded
"""
files = self.discover_files()
# Filter by years
if years:
files = [f for f in files if f['year'] in years or f['year'] is None]
# Filter by file types
if file_types:
files = [f for f in files if f['type'] in file_types or f['type'] in ['header', 'special']]
logger.info(f"📥 Preparing to download {len(files)} files")
if dry_run:
logger.info("🔍 DRY RUN - Files that would be downloaded:")
for f in files:
print(f" {f['year'] or 'N/A':>4} | {f['category']:30} | {f['filename']}")
return
# Download files
successful = 0
failed = 0
skipped = 0
for i, file_info in enumerate(files, 1):
logger.info(f"\n[{i}/{len(files)}] {file_info['filename']}")
if self._is_downloaded(file_info['url'], file_info['path']):
skipped += 1
continue
success = self._download_file(
file_info['url'],
file_info['path'],
f"{file_info['category']} - {file_info['year'] or 'N/A'}"
)
if success:
successful += 1
else:
failed += 1
# Rate limiting
time.sleep(0.5)
# Summary
logger.info("\n" + "="*60)
logger.info("📊 Download Summary:")
logger.info(f" ✅ Successful: {successful}")
logger.info(f" ⏭️ Skipped: {skipped}")
logger.info(f" ❌ Failed: {failed}")
logger.info(f" 📁 Base directory: {self.base_dir}")
logger.info("="*60)
def main():
"""Main entry point"""
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
description='Download FEC bulk data files',
formatter_class=argparse.RawDescriptionHelpFormatter,
epilog="""
Examples:
# Download everything to D:/fec_data/
python bulk_download_fec.py
# Download to custom directory
python bulk_download_fec.py --base-dir /mnt/d/fec_data
# Download specific years only
python bulk_download_fec.py --years 2020,2022,2024
# Download specific file types only
python bulk_download_fec.py --types indiv,cn,cm
# Resume interrupted download
python bulk_download_fec.py --resume
# Dry run (show what would be downloaded)
python bulk_download_fec.py --dry-run
"""
)
parser.add_argument(
'--base-dir',
type=str,
default='D:/fec_data',
help='Base directory for downloads (default: D:/fec_data)'
)
parser.add_argument(
'--years',
type=str,
help='Comma-separated list of years to download (e.g., 2020,2022,2024)'
)
parser.add_argument(
'--types',
type=str,
help='Comma-separated list of file types (e.g., indiv,cm,cn)'
)
parser.add_argument(
'--resume',
action='store_true',
help='Resume interrupted download'
)
parser.add_argument(
'--dry-run',
action='store_true',
help='Show what would be downloaded without actually downloading'
)
args = parser.parse_args()
# Parse years and types
years = args.years.split(',') if args.years else None
file_types = args.types.split(',') if args.types else None
# Configure logging
logger.remove()
logger.add(
sys.stderr,
format="{time:HH:mm:ss} | {level:8} | {message}",
level="INFO"
)
# Create downloader and run
downloader = FECBulkDownloader(
base_dir=Path(args.base_dir),
resume=args.resume
)
downloader.download_all(
years=years,
file_types=file_types,
dry_run=args.dry_run
)
if __name__ == '__main__':
main()