PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A 27-year-old Cumberland man with no prior political experience has declared his intention to run for the 1st District Congressional seat currently held by Democrat David N. Cicilline.
Jonathan Maciel, of 719 High St., Cumberland, filed his statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission. The declaration was received on Aug. 26. He would be running as an independent.
Candidates running for the U.S. House of Representatives must be at least 25 and a citizen of the United States for seven years.
Maciel, who announced his candidacy Wednesday morning via an emailed news release, did not indicate a campaign committee. In his news release, he described himself as an "informational technology engineer" working at a test lab in Franklin, Mass.
In a phone interview Wednesday afternoon, Maciel said he has lived in Rhode Island since 2009 and first voted in the state as a Democrat in the 2010 election, though he is currently unaffiliated.
Maciel previously launched a website (www.macielforcongress.com) and started social media profiles on Facebook, Twitter and Google+, where he outlines in broad terms his stand on a variety of issues and proposed initiatives.