Clay Aiken gave a lengthy interview about his congressional campaign, which he noted was his “first.” The implication is that in a subsequent campaign, Aiken would do better. Maybe he’ll run again, lose, and run again after that, a la Mitt Romney.
Like Romney, Aiken says he’s learned a lot from his failures. Perhaps the most important lesson is to never again run in such a conservative district. Why Aiken would run in NC-02 in the first place was always a head-scratcher, perhaps motivated by an inaccurate view that Renee Ellmers was vulnerable in the general election.
While Ellmers might need to worry about a primary, she’s safe in the general, and certainly against another challenge from Aiken. Instead, the former American Idol contestant would be better-suited running in the district that intersects the 2nd – the 4th, currently held by David Price.
For Aiken, the timing might be perfect, as Price is getting up in age and is rumored to be considering retirement. In an open-seat race, Aiken would start out as the frontrunner, despite the bevy of prominent Democrats who live in this uniquely shaped Research Triangle-Fayetteville district. Some of the potential candidates might include former Rep. Brad Miller, Rep. Grier Martin, House Minority Leader Larry Hall, and former state Sen. Eric Mansfield.
A potential hurdle Aiken might have to overcome is the skepticism of donors, who were not happy with his decision to allow his campaign to become the subject of a documentary TV mini-series. It remains to be seen how broad this discontent with Aiken is, but one thing is certain: his support with “Claymates” is undiminished, and despite losing last November, established politicians could struggle against another Aiken bid.
A Price retirement, then, could well trigger a chain reaction pitting multiple Democrats against each other in a race that could provide a lifetime seat in Congress – retreads like Aiken and Brad Miller against up-and-coming Democrats who are ready for their time in the sun and are not going to wait any longer. It would be a heck of a primary.
John Wynne is the “conservative voice” at PoliticsNC, where he also provides polling analysis and commentary on legislative campaigns. When not writing about politics, he enjoys gardening and listening to opera. Contact: johncwynne@gmail.com.
Calling Aiken a “retread” because he lost in his only political campaign to date is a dismissive slur. Others here have pointed out some good things about him which indicate he would make a good member of the US House. The reality of GOPer gerrymandering means it is indeed unlikely he can unseat Ellmers in another race (unless like her he could get big $ behind him). That there are so few Democratic districts is frustrating, because indeed there are a lot of up and coming candidates who deserve a shot at office. To pit them all against each other in a NC-04 primary just shows how one-sided our state’s politics have become.
Ellmers went straight from nursing into Congress. Why should Aiken have to go through the NC House or Senate first? The only other qualification prior I can find is her being a member of the Chamber Of Commerce. I question why she was even a member but I guess they had to “pad” her resume. In any case she has made it quite clear that she entered politics because of her opposition to Obamacare. Considering that she was a nurse in her husband’s surgery practise that is a clear conflict of interest for her to even to have a vote on that particular issue. Remember that is the husband who said they couldn’t get along on his salary during the government shutdown. Aiken went through and received his degree in Special Education and taught in the classroom. Then after Idol went on to form his foundation that provides funds,training and curriculum for summer camps and after school programs to include children with disabilities in programs with their typically developing peers. Thereby in turn assisting their families to cope with the day to day challenges. Having a relative with challenges I know how important and vital this program is to communities in 39 states. He was also Education Ambassador with UNICEF travelling overseas (on his own dime) to assure children in Afghanistan,Somalia, Indonesia, Uganda were receiving a proper education financed and arranged by UNICEF. All of this was done whenever he wasn’t recording and touring. Now who has the more varied life experience and met people from all walks of life around the globe. He also met with congressional leaders and testified in front of Congress back in 2004 (?) for more funding for programs for the disabled. I wish he would run in my district. Once you hear him speak on the issues it is quite evident that he studied and looked for solutions instead of spouting some meaningless rhetoric like his opponent. It was a challenge just to listen to their debate where she called it the Obama-Aiken economy. Good grief! I bet you she can’t even tell you want magazines she reads.
If Aiken’s heart is really into trying to get into politics perhaps he should try running for a district in the NC House or Senate first, then if elected spend the next few years showing folks what he’s really about…I know it’s not as exciting as heading to Washington but you gotta start somewhere…
Aiken ran in #NC02 because that is where he was born and raised. Except for a very short amount of time in LA after Idol (11 years ago) he has made his home in the Raleigh area. He had stated many times during his campaign that he was running because he hated how the people of #NC02 and their issues were being ignored. Ellmers has continuously voted against her district’s best interests to get in good with Boehner and other top GOP leaders. Yes Aiken would have had a much easier time getting elected elsewhere. Unlike Ellmers who relocated just to get elected Aiken is in the race to try to better his own district.
Not sure about the other stuff but you nailed Ellmers. What a liar and cheat she turned out to be.
Interesting piece. A few others whom I believe would be possibilities: Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt, former Carrboro Mayor Chilton, and State Senator Floyd McKissick.
“A potential hurdle Aiken might have to overcome is the skepticism of donors, who were not happy with his decision to allow his campaign to become the subject of a documentary TV mini-series.”
You might want to do a little research on these “donors”. It was as Agnes Reynolds said, but stupid stuff keeps getting repeated. We live in a world where people have learned you can make a thing so by repeating it over and over, regardless of the facts. There are two idiots in Hollywood that thought they were going to pay him back for some perceived injustice – an unscheduled interview he turned down and/or that he didn’t focus his campaign on gay issues (wouldn’t that have gone over great in the District he was running in, LOL). It had nothing to do with the documentary, they signed the releases, they knew what was happening.
Why hasn’t anyone mentioned the Senate?
One more thing. One gay gossip blogger claimed that she and her friend (Steven Tyler) felt duped to find out it was being documented. They did sign the standard release. They did support his candidacy but then suddenly went deaf, dumb and blind, forgetting that they had agreed to be filmed, forgetting that Clay was running for Congress (and not gay of the year). The reason for the sudden flip was that she thought she could just show up and demand an interview. When it didn’t happen she turned venomous.
Its not a reality series. Its a documentary in the same vein as “Mitt” was.
Corrected, thanks.