Clay Aiken loses House bid to Rep. Renee Ellmers

Clay Aiken loses House bid to Rep. Renee Ellmers
(Image credit: Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

Clay Aiken has finished in second place once again, as the former American Idol runner-up is projected to fall short in his congressional bid to incumbent Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.)

Despite having relatively strong name recognition for a first-time candidate, Aiken was always considered a longshot to win. With roughly 70 percent of the vote in, he trailed Ellmers 57 percent to 43 percent.

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Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.