Hello, reporters! This isn’t quite the last TFR before the US election, but we’re getting there.
If you are covering this election, and if you have any energy to spare (godspeed to you), I highly recommend looking up candidates’ financial disclosures. This is something I’ve always done when backgrounding and it can even be fun! In the past, I’ve found media ties, shared businesses with other candidates, and mansions.
For a US Congressional candidate, you can request these docs from either the House Clerk’s office or the Senate Secretary’s office. If you’re researching a more local candidate, you can dig up their financial ties using this tipsheet from MuckRock.
And if you don’t have time (or energy) to add these to your political coverage, you can instead focus on whatever seems most pertinent! Major donors, campaign expenditures, news clips? Check out your candidate, reporters!