Just in time for Sunshine Week, the annual campaign for open government, Google and the Center for Responsive Politics have teamed up to provide greater access to information on presidential candidates.
This morning, Google added new features to the results it provides to users searching for information on the men and women in pursuit of the White House. Now, in the information card located above or to the right of search results, users typing in “Hillary Clinton” will find data on her campaign finances. The figures, which include both contributions to her campaign as well as to outside spending groups supporting her come from the Center for Responsive Politics, as do the totals showing her most supportive industries that appear below the main box.
The candidate information card for Google search “Hillary Clinton Campaign Finance”
We’re delighted that the data are now readily available and displayed for all seeking to know more about the candidates and their sources of support. The addition of these snapshots reflects a growing interest in campaign finance, a topic often raised in this election cycle by candidates themselves. Never before has money in politics played such a focal role in political debates. For anyone wanting to check out the contenders’ statements about their own, or their opponents’, campaign money — from Sen. Bernie Sanders’ repeated implication that Clinton is too close with Wall St. to Donald Trump’s alleged self-financing of his campaign — all of that information and more is now just a click away on Google.
These figures, of course, and much, much more, are also available on our site. But Google’s decision to make them available right on the search results screen gives the data a new and sizable platform. The fact this development has already been cited in the Washington Post, TechCrunch, Verge, and Google’s own blog proves that, to paraphrase Vice President Biden, this is a big deal.
We are very excited about this project and the prospects for future collaborations. Next year, we’re hoping for a doodle.