WASHINGTON — He didn’t win American Idol but he’s going to try to win a congressional seat in North Carolina.
Singer-turned-politician Clay Aiken is ramping up his campaign and making his rounds in Washington this week, meeting with potential donors and supporters, such as the National Education Association. Aiken began his career as a special education teacher in North Carolina.
Aiken, 35, faces former North Carolina Commerce Secretary Keith Crisco and family counselor Toni Morris in the state’s Democratic primary on May 6. The seat is occupied by Republican Rep. Renee Ellmers, who is running for reelection in the 2nd district, which occupies the central and eastern part of the state. Durham-based attorney Houston Barnes, a Democrat, also considered a bid, but withdrew from the race in February and sent his support to Aiken.
“I like him,” Barnes said of Aiken in a letter to supporters. “I believe he has a deep desire to serve. I do not, however, believe it is in the best interests of the people of North Carolina, or of the Democratic Party, to have an expensive, contentious Democratic Primary.”
Crisco, 70, meanwhile, has garnered the backing of several current and former elected officials at the state and local level, including mayors from Asheboro, Winston-Salem and Concord. Aaron Fiedler, Crisco’s communications director, said the campaign won’t comment on endorsements that Crisco is currently seeking.
Andrew Taylor, a political science professor at North Carolina State University, said he hasn’t seen any polling data to suggest which candidate might hold the lead in the primary campaign. He said that Crisco is much more well-known and experienced in North Carolina politics.
“But Aiken does have significant name recognition,” Taylor added.
Crisco will run more toward the center on social and cultural issues than the openly gay Aiken, Taylor said.
“I’m not a politician. I don’t ever want to be one,” Aiken said in a campaign announcement video on his website. “But I do want to help bring back, at least to my corner of North Carolina, that someone can go to Washington and represent all the people, whether they voted for you or not,”
The North Carolina Democratic Party, which doesn’t take positions on candidates in primaries, said any of the candidates would be a welcome change from Ellmers.
“When the primary is over, we will all united behind our chosen Democratic candidates and focus on winning elections this fall against the extreme GOP in North Carolina,” said Randy Voller, chairman of the NCDP.
Aiken met with representatives from the NEA, a teachers union, on Wednesday discuss his stance on education initiatives, including tuition tax credits for adults returning to school and increased focus on early childhood education. Mary Kusler, director of government relations at the NEA, said the organization typically meets with state and federal candidates in all 50 states.
But the NEA hasn’t backed Aiken’s bid at this point– the organization’s political action committee will likely make those decisions in early May.
“It is always inspiring to see classroom educators run for office,” Kusler said. “At the end of the day, he is a special education teacher.”