Clay Aiken was handily defeated by Republican Rep. Renee Ellmers in his bid for North Carolina's 2nd Congressional District, with Ellmers receiving 56 percent of the vote.
Aiken became famous in 2003 on the second season of reality-TV singing competition "American Idol," where he lost to Ruben Studdard. In 2012, he was also runner up to Arsenio Hall on Donald Trump's "Celebrity Apprentice."
Considering the newest loss,
CBS News put it thus: "Clay Aiken: forever the runner-up."
The Daily Caller's reaction was similar, if not a bit harsher.
"The Triple Frown! Clay Aiken Loses Yet Again," it wrote.
Aiken decided to run for congress in February, and held a razor-thin lead over his primary opponent, former North Carolina Commerce Secretary Keith Crisco. Crisco died a day before conceding the primary to Aiken after sustaining a fall in his home.
Aiken has no prior political experience, and distanced himself from President Obama on the campaign trail. If elected, he would have been the first openly gay man to be elected to congress by a Southern state.
Ellmers, a nurse, was elected to her seat in 2010. She said in her victory speech that she would still like to work with the singer on continuing to improve North Carolina.
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