--- description: The 'American Idol' runner-up is ahead by just 372 votes title: Clay Aiken Holds Slim Lead in North Carolina Democratic Primary image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt846dbc33ca391aea/69868e31cd684814ba09483e/nc-congress_dock.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [2014 elections](/tag/2014-elections/) ## 2014 elections Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Clay Aiken Holds Slim Lead in North Carolina Democratic Primary  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent May 7, 2014 1:21 PM CUT  Clay Aiken speaks to supporters during an election night watch party in Holly Springs, N.C., Tuesday, May 6, 2014. Clay Aiken speaks to supporters during an election night watch party in Holly Springs, N.C., Tuesday, May 6, 2014.Gerry Broome—AP  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent May 7, 2014 1:21 PM CUT Former _American Idol_ contestant Clay Aiken was ahead in the North Carolina Democratic congressional primary by a slim margin Wednesday morning. The former singer led his opponent, former state Commerce Secretary Keith Crisco, by only 372 votes with all precincts reporting, making the race too close to call according to the Associated Press. As things stand, Aiken has the 40 percent necessary to win, but has been unable to declare victory. Aiken and Crisco both hold 40 percent on the vote. Whoever wins will face incumbent Republican U.S. Renee Ellmers in November. Ellmers won by a wide margin in 2010 when she was elected during the Tea Party wave. \[[_AP_](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/primary-featuring-clay-aiken-too-close-call "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/90682/clay-aiken-north-carolina/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/90682/clay-aiken-north-carolina/"},"headline":"Clay Aiken Holds Slim Lead in North Carolina Democratic Primary","datePublished":"2014-05-07T13:21:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:09:27.787Z","description":"The American Idol runner-up is ahead by just 372 votes, with all precincts reporting, but the race has still not been called","url":"https://time.com/90682/clay-aiken-north-carolina/","keywords":["2014 elections","Newsfeed","Congress","North Carolina","celebrity"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt846dbc33ca391aea/69868e31cd684814ba09483e/nc-congress_dock.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt846dbc33ca391aea/69868e31cd684814ba09483e/nc-congress_dock.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Clay Aiken","caption":"Clay Aiken","creditText":"Gerry Broome—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2014-elections/","name":"2014 elections"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/90682/clay-aiken-north-carolina/","name":"Clay Aiken Holds Slim Lead in North Carolina Democratic Primary"}}]}] ```