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Former 'American Idol' runner-up Clay Aiken to run for Congress again in North Carolina

Clay Aiken announced his bid for the 6th District seat in the Research Triangle area Monday in a video.

Credit: AP

FILE - In this May 6, 2014 file photo, Clay Aiken speaks to supporters during an election night watch party in Holly Springs, N.C. Eleven years after becoming a national TV sensation, Clay Aiken still attracts a crowd in central North Carolina. Finishing second for Congress won’t cut it for the runner-up on the Fox show in 2003 that vaulted him to a singing career and another second-place finish on NBC’s "Celebrity Apprentice." Rather, he’ll just be another Democratic candidate who failed to beat the odds on North Carolina’s congressional map since Republicans redrew it and shifted the delegation’s makeup to the right. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)

RALEIGH, N.C. — Former “American Idol” runner-up Clay Aiken says he’s running for Congress again in North Carolina, this time seeking to succeed the retiring U.S. Rep. David Price.

Aiken announced his bid for the 6th District seat in the Research Triangle area Monday in a video. He finished second to Ruben Studdard on the TV singing contest in 2003. Aiken has had a career in music, theater and reality shows but also won the Democratic nomination for another district in 2014 before losing in the general election.

Aiken would be the first openly LGBTQ person elected to Congress from the South if he won.

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