INDEPENDENT FOR WASHINGTON’S 1st CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

This is not how it’s supposed to be

We are managing decline instead of engineering growth.

We must strip away the bureaucracy and unleash American abundance.

Cost of living is rising. National debt is compounding. And all we hear are complaints, not solutions.

Social media and cable news profit off a massive political entertainment industry, manufacturing outrage to keep us at each other's throats.

This division results in a Congress that forgets its obligation to be the voice of the people, yet still remembers how to enrich its members. 

We are governed by executive orders and litigation rather than legislation.

GRIEVANCE IS NOT A STRATEGY

REPUBLICANS retreated into Nostalgia. They obsess over restoring a perceived lost greatness of the past. Their aim is to demonize government rather than fix it.

DEMOCRATS became obsessed with Procedure. They define themselves by what they are fighting against, not what they are fighting for. They preach progress but legislate paralysis.

Both result in an ineffective government and neither party offers a vision for the future. We cannot keep doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

Headshot of James Etzkorn, Engineer and Candidate for U.S. Congress in Washington's 1st District (WA-01).

I am James Etzkorn. I am a 5th generation Washingtonian, a husband, a father and an engineer.

I am not a career politician. As an engineer, I am driven by data and practical solutions, not partisan ideology. Like many of you, I've voted Democrat due to a lack of a better option. I'll take bureaucratic bloat over chaos, but I am tired of settling for the "least bad" option.

I am running as an Independent to fight for the future of America, not party leadership or the next election. I stand for:

  • Reversing the Affordability Crisis: Cost of living has outpaced wages. We must align government incentives to lower costs and increase wages to restore upward mobility for all Americans.

  • The Working Class over the Epstein Class: I support term limits, restricting campaign financing, banning Congressional insider trading and ending the “buy-borrow-die” tax loophole used by the ultra-wealthy.

  • Uncompromising Individual Freedom: A smaller federal government means politicians stay out of your doctor's office, your bedroom and your personal choices.

  • Pragmatic Security and Peace: We must secure the border without ICE trampling on human rights and stop funding illegal foreign wars.

  • America’s Future: We must address the wealth gap and our national debt by accelerating our economy through education, science and unmatched American innovation.

read the full bio

THE FUTURE IS BUILT

The future isn't something that just happens to us. It isn't something that is given to us.

We are tired of the dysfunction and the endless finger-pointing. It doesn't matter whose fault it is. It matters what we are going to do about it.

When Americans align, we are the strongest force in human history. Let’s get to work and build the future we want.

Black and white photo of interlocking metal gears in a mechanical system.

Strip the Bureaucracy

• Measure results, not dollars spent

• Direct funding, no tax games

• Eliminate government friction and waste

see the solution
Inside a manufacturing facility with large rocket components being assembled, including multiple sections of rockets, workers, and equipment.

Engineer Abundance

• Increase supply to lower cost of living

• Incentivize American production

• Raise wages through competition

see the solution
Close-up of Abraham Lincoln's judging eyes on a five dollar bill.

Confront the Debt

• $39T national debt and growing

• $1T/yr interest, exceeds defense

• Growth is the only viable solution

see the solution

I am challenging Suzan DelBene, who has represented Washington’s 1st District in Congress since 2012.

Since then, we have seen our cost of living skyrocket and government spending explode. But one thing has grown even faster, DelBene’s net worth. Since taking office, her wealth has more than doubled to an estimated $140 million, making her one of the richest members of Congress [1].

As the Chair of the DCCC, she has become the definition of a career politician. She is disconnected from our reality, wealthy beyond measure and focused on D.C. power games rather than solving our problems. She has a massive political machine behind her. I don't.

I have independent thinkers who want to solve problems.

I am running a lean campaign to topple a Goliath. Please help me fund the fight.

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I am honored to receive your donation and I promise to treat every dollar with the efficiency of an engineer.