Former American Idol star Clay Aiken announced he's running for Congress in North Carolina, seeking the Democratic nomination in the 6th District, WOKV.com reported.
In a video posted online, the openly gay father reintroduces himself, saying, "These days my life looks a lot more like yours than Justin Bieber's—that I can promise you." Aiken adds, "Because today, it seems like the loudest voices in North Carolina politics are white nationalists like this guy," before playing a clip of Republican Congressman Madison Cawthorn.
Aiken, 43, previously ran for office in North Carolina in 2014, winning the Democratic primary in the 2nd District but losing in the general election to the Republican incumbent, Rep. Renee Ellmers, The Washington Post reported. Aiken is now running in a different district, which has been long represented by a Democrat who announced in October he would not seek re-election. Rep. David Price announced his retirement last year from representing much of the area that's part of the newly redrawn 6th District since 1987, The Hill noted.
If elected, Aiken—a 10th-generation North Carolinian—said he would be the South's first gay congressman.
Aiken appeared on American Idol in 2003, coming in second to Ruben Studdard. He also was runner-up on Celebrity Apprentice in 2012, when Arsenio Hall won.
