Clay Aiken on Failed Congressional Run

Some would say Clay Aiken's congressional bid was domed from the start. He tried to unseat an incumbent who began her tenure by toppling a seven-term incumbent...and he's Clay Aiken (a.k.a. the guy who came in second on American Idol). The upshot is that his campaign was chronicled on film and will be a four-hour docuseries on the Esquire network.

Aiken spoke about winning the silver medal again, this time to reporters at the Television Critics Association winter press tour. He was asked if he had any regrets about the campaign or having it captured on film.

"Obviously, I had hoped to win," he said. "I had no intention to do anything but run for Congress. What they did with the production was going to be up to them."

Then, when asked if he thought that he never had a real shot as a gay man in a conservative state, Aiken, according to The Hollywood Reporter, "seemed conflicted."

"I certainly don't want to think that," he said. "It's a very difficult district. One of the things I hope we're able to shed some light on is the political climate now, how so many districts in this country are gerrymandered beyond recognition."

According to Aiken, North Carolina's second district look quite like an "amoeba."