Broadway & American Idol Alum Clay Aiken Runner-Up Again, Loses Bid for Congress

Broadway alum Clay Aiken, who was running for Congress in North Carolina, has been defeated by incumbent Republican Rep. Renee Ellmers. Elmers won 58.85% of the vote in the state’s 2nd District; Aiken picked up 41.5%.

Best known for being the 2003 American Idol runner-up to Ruben Studdard, Aiken went on to release five albums and star as Sir Robin in Spamalot on the Great White Way in 2009, winning a Broadway.com Audience Choice Award for Favorite Replacement. Other stage credits include the title role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. TV credits include Scrubs, Drop Dead Diva and 30 Rock.

Watch Aiken’s speech to his supporters after losing his bid for a House seat below.