With his announcement for candidacy for congress, Clay Aiken now joins a long list of celebrity political hopefuls. The difference for him is the location. California is a hotspot for celebrity politicians since the political scene there is mostly entertainment and non-sensical drama already.
However, Clay Aiken is hoping to make his political debut in North Carolina, a place that isn’t saturated with celebrities and drama. Very few celebrities have been able to make it big there. Lula Belle Wiseman is the biggest name to enter politics there. Heath Shuler was a congressman there too, but a brief career as a backup quarterback hardly qualifies someone as a celebrity.
North Carolina doesn’t exactly have a rich history of being kind to celebrity political hopefuls. Even Richard Petty, the most revered individual in NASCAR was unable celebrate a victory lap in his attempt at politics.
However, North Carolina’s unfriendly political environment for celebrities is hardly the largest hurdle that Aiken faces as he pursues this endeavor. Aiken has a long history of coming in second place. American Idol and Celebrity Apprentice are a couple of them that come to mind, so if history repeats itself for Aiken, he’s fighting a losing battle.
North Carolina’s 2nd district has a strong history of conservative values. The incumbent congresswoman is a republican. Mitt Romney dominated the district in the presidential election by nearly a 2-1 ratio.
I can’t imagine an openly gay candidate doing well in a district with such a rich history of conservatism, especially its more recent history.
Also, the backlash that the National Security Agency has received from conservative circles has been astounding. As far as we know, the NSA has collected the phone numbers of the people everyone has been in contact with. Clay Aiken would certainly like the NSA to do more, which the people of north Carolina’s 2nd district would not be fond of.
In his one hit song, Aiken sang: “I wish I could be a fly on your wall, Are you really alone…If I was invisible, Then I could just watch you in your room…”
If the lyrics of Clay Aiken’s one hit song, “Invisible”, is any indication of the direction he would like the NSA to go, then I doubt the people of North Carolina’s 2nd district even allows him to become runner-up of his own party.
In short, the political hurdles he faces in his attempt at a public office will ultimately prove to be too much for Clay Aiken. He may find it easier to pursue heterosexuality than to win North Carolina’s 2nd.