Clay Aiken Loses His Bid for Congress

Clay Aiken is all smiles while heading to the polling station to place his vote in the midterm elections on Tuesday (November 4) in Cary, N.C.

The 35-year-old former American Idol contestant was in the running as a Democrat for a House seat in North Carolina, but he lost to incumbent Renee Ellmers 57% to 43% with 69% of the vote counted, according to Variety.

Clay was an underdog as he was running in a district that leans Republican and he tried to distance himself from his celebrity and focus on local issues, though his opponent tried to dismiss his candidacy because of his connections to showbiz.