Clay Aiken Explores a Run for Congress
Clay Aiken, the openly gay runner-up in the 2003 American Idol contest, is quietly exploring a run for Congress in his native North Carolina. And Republicans have already gone on the offensive.
The Washington Blade, a gay community magazine in the nation's capital, reported Friday that the crooner has talked with pollsters and election consultants to learn whether he would stand a chance to unseat Rep. Renee Ellmers, the Republican who has represented the Raleigh, North Carolina district since 2011.
Daniel Keylin, a spokesman for the North Carolina Republican Party, was unimpressed by Friday's news.
‘In a testament to the weakness of the Democrat Party, Clay Aiken would actually be one of their strongest Congressional candidates if he runs,' Keylin told MailOnline.
One of the Democratic operatives Aiken has met with is Betsy Conti, a veteran of Tarheel State politics who served under Governor Bev Purdue and worked on former Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore's campaign in 2000.
Aiken lost the 2003 American Idol crown to ‘velvet teddy bear' Ruben Studdard, the rotund gospel singer who made news in 2013 when he lost a reported 112 pounds on the show 'The Biggest Loser.'
His career has spanned recording, publishing, theater and television, appearing as Sir Robin in the Broadway production of 'Spamalot!' and co-authoring a New York Times best-seller in 2004 and taking second place – behind former late-night host Arsenio Hall – in the 2012 edition of Donald Trump's show 'Celebrity Apprentice.'
A run for Congress wouldn't represent the gay father's first toe-dip into politics. In July he made an appearance on Capitol Hill, urging lawmakers to get tougher on anti-gay bullying.
‘I was picked on, I was called gay, I was called fag, I was called sissy, you name it,;' he said during a congressional briefing.
'Fortunately, I was able to overcome it and live through it because of a number of friends who were supportive of me.'
'When I was in eighth grade, we had to do a project where we interviewed somebody we admired and wrote a paper about them,' he said. 'Everybody did a parent or their youth pastor or someone close to them. I called [then-U.S. Senator] Terry Sanford’s office in Raleigh and went and interviewed [him].'
Aiken has not yet announced his candidacy. The deadline for running in the May 6 primary election is February 28.
If he were to enter the race, he would face former North Carolina Commerce Secretary Keith Crisco, who has far more government experience but less name recognition.
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