Keith Crisco, Clay Aiken's election opponent, has died

Keith Crisco, Clay Aiken&#039;s election opponent, has died

(Image credit: Facebook/Clay Aiken)

last updated 8 January 2015

Keith Crisco, Clay Aiken's opponent in a North Carolina Democratic House primary, died at his home on Monday, according to The Courier-Tribune. He was 71.

There was no immediate cause of death given, though the paper said he was believed to have sustained life-threatening injuries in a fall earlier in the day.

Crisco, a former state commerce secretary, trailed Aiken by only a few hundred votes in the initial tally from last week's primary election. The two were waiting on a final vote count to be announced. Aiken will go on to face Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.) in the general election.

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Update: Aiken announced that he is suspending his campaign, saying he is "stunned and deeply saddened by Keith Crisco's death."

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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.