Candidate

The Candidate object represents a candidate in a contest. If a candidate is running in multiple contests, each contest must have its own Candidate object. Candidate objects may not be reused between Contests.

Tag	Data Type	Required?	Repeats?	Description	Error Handling
BallotName	InternationalizedText	Required	Single	The candidate’s name as it will be displayed on the official ballot (e.g. “Ken T. Cuccinelli II”).	If the element is invalid, then the implementation is required to ignore the Candidate element containing it.
ContactInformation	ContactInformation	Optional	Single	Contact and physical address information for this Candidate and/or their campaign (see ContactInformation).	If the element is invalid or not present, then the implementation is required to ignore it.
ExternalIdentifiers	ExternalIdentifiers	Optional	Single	Another identifier for a candidate that links to another source of information (e.g. a campaign committee ID that links to a campaign finance system).	If the element is invalid or not present, then the implementation is required to ignore it.
FileDate	xs:date	Optional	Single	Date when the candidate filed for the contest.	If the field is invalid or not present, then the implementation is required to ignore it.
IsIncumbent	xs:boolean	Optional	Single	Indicates whether the candidate is the incumbent for the office associated with the contest.	If the field is invalid or not present, then the implementation is required to ignore it.
IsTopTicket	xs:boolean	Optional	Single	Indicates whether the candidate is the top of a ticket that includes multiple candidates.	If the field is invalid or not present, then the implementation is required to ignore it.
PartyId	xs:IDREF	Optional	Single	Reference to a Party element with additional information about the candidate’s affiliated party. This is the party affiliation that is intended to be presented as part of ballot information.	If the field is invalid or not present, then the implementation is required to ignore it.
PersonId	xs:IDREF	Optional	Single	Reference to a Person element with additional information about the candidate.	If the field is invalid or not present, then the implementation is required to ignore it.
PostElectionStatus	CandidatePostElectionStatus	Optional	Single	Final status of the candidate (e.g. winner, withdrawn, etc…).	If the field is invalid or not present, then the implementation is required to ignore it.
PreElectionStatus	CandidatePreElectionStatus	Optional	Single	Registration status of the candidate (e.g. filed, qualified, etc…).	If the field is invalid or not present, then the implementation is required to ignore it.

<Candidate id="can10961">
   <BallotName>
     <Text language="en">Ken T. Cuccinelli II</Text>
   </BallotName>
   <PartyId>par0001</PartyId>
   <PersonId>per10961</PersonId>
</Candidate>