Public office is an institution with responsibilities, boundaries and a term. A person may hold that office, seek it, leave it or appear in historical records about it. Those are different relationships.
Follow the seat through time
An office record is a useful anchor because people change while the institution continues. A current roster identifies a holder at a stated time; an election record identifies candidates for a particular contest. A vacant seat is still an office. Comparing these records helps avoid the common mistake of treating a candidate biography as proof that the person currently has governmental authority.
Keep identities and campaigns distinct
Names are not unique identifiers. A person can run more than once, seek different offices or appear with different punctuation in separate sources. Electionpedia retains the source identifiers and election context that allow a reader to check a match. A campaign committee is also a separate record: its receipts and spending should not be read as the candidate’s personal wealth.
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