My Publicist Note Book

Reality show star and singer Clay Aiken has won the Democratic primary for North Carolina's second congressional district. The former "American Idol" star received just 372 more votes than his opponent in the Democratic Primary in North Carolina In a squeaker, singer and  reality show contestant  Clay Aiken  appears to have won the Democratic primary for the U.S. House of Representatives from his native North Carolina and will face off against the two-term Republican incumbent  Rep. Renee Ellmers  in November. Aiken, who grew up in Raleigh, rose to fame on "American Idol," and landed on the cover of People magazine when he came out as gay in 2008, fended off two opponents, a former state Commerce secretary considered the Establishment candidate (he only trailed Aiken by less than 400 votes) and a licensed family counselor who had previously run for the nomination.  Campaigning on a platform of job creation and a...

Clay Aiken formally declared his bid for Congress, setting aside the singing career he launched on TV's  American Idol  to run as a Democrat for a North Carolina seat now held by a Republican. In a video posted Wednesday on You Tube, Aiken alluded to the "golden ticket" that got punched when he was the 2003 runner-up on the reality singing show. He stressed his upbringing by a single mom and his days as a special education teacher in explaining that he wants to serve in Congress for people who don't have a voice. "I'm not a politician. I don't ever want to be one, but I do want to help bring back — at least to my corner of North Carolina — the idea someone can go to Washington to represent all the people, whether they voted for you or not," Aiken said. He is aiming to take on Rep. Renee Ellmers, chairwoman of the Republican Women's Policy Committee, who won a seat long held by a Democrat in 2010. In a radio interview last week, El...