PORTLAND, Maine — Independent candidate Ethan Alcorn hopes Maine’s 1st Congressional District is ready for something different.
“I am not in a party for a reason," Alcorn told NEWS CENTER Maine. "I think the two-party system is kind of broken."
Alcorn is a Saco resident, who owns his own landscaping business.
Deeply suspicious of the American government, Alcorn’s platform weaves together libertarianism and conspiracy theories.
One of those theories—that think tank Council on Foreign Relations is joining with leaders from Europe and North America to “rig" the government—inspired him to enter the race for Congress.
“They’re trying to plan the world for us, and that’s what I’m running—to try to take back some of the power,” Alcorn said.
On substantive issues, he weaves left to right.
A supporter of passing a constitutional amendment to protect abortion, Alcorn is against any gun control measures. He also believes the solution to Maine’s affordable housing crisis will come from the private sector.
“I want the free market to take care of that,” Alcorn said. “The government has messed up everything.”
Alcorn extends that principle to the government’s handling of COVID-19, an issue in which his views are rife with misinformation. An opponent of COVID-19 lockdowns, Alcorn claims—without evidence—that many of those with COVID-19 deaths were misdiagnosed.
He also falsely claimed all-cause mortality rates “were not that much higher” during the beginning of the pandemic.
In fact, data from the U.S. Census observed all-cause mortality in the first year of the pandemic hovered at 11.1 deaths per 10,000 people per month. The expected figure for that time period was 9.3, a significantly lower number.
Speaking on the topic of immigration, the 60-year-old was quick to resort to stereotyping, lamenting what he sees as the negative influence of immigrants in Maine.
“A lot of these people who have come here, by the way, they can’t drive very well I’ve noticed,” Alcorn said.
When asked who he was referring to, Alcorn continued: “I don’t know who it is, but I usually see—it looks like people coming from Africa or somewhere.”
Alcorn faces Democratic incumbent Rep. Chellie Pingree and Republican Ron Russell in the race for the 1st Congressional District.