Clay Aiken Loses Congressional Bid as Esquire Network Announces Four-Hour Campaign Docuseries

Clay Aiken is a perennial runner-up.

The "Invisible" singer, who lost to Ruben Studdard during the second season of "American Idol," ran for Congress as a Democrat in North Carolina's second congressional district this year. He was defeated Tuesday by incumbent Republican Rep. Renee Ellmers, who claimed 56 percent of the district's vote.

Ellmers, who was first elected in 2010, was considered the favorite in the conservative district.

Had he won, Aiken, 35, would have been the first openly gay congressman elected from the South. He announced his candidacy in February.

The campaign was marked by tragedy, as Keith Crisco, a former North Carolina Commerce Secretary and businessman, died suddenly at age 71 in May. He had challenged Aiken for the Democratic nomination. At the time of Crisco's death, Aiken was leading by just 369 votes. Both candidates were awaiting confirmation from election authorities before deciding how to proceed in the race to unseat Ellmers.

Tuesday was an especially difficult day for Aiken, as his campaign bus broke down after leaving a polling station. The accident happened after he voted, around 9 a.m. Police had to tow the bus off the road.

VIDEO: Clay Aiken talks about fatherhood and coming out as gay

After Aiken's defeat, Esquire Network announced that Simon Chinn and Jonathan Chinn have been filming every step of Aiken's campaign since his February candidacy announcement, through the May primary and Tuesday's final results. The four-hour untitled docuseries will premiere sometime in 2015.

"We were granted incredible access during the making of this documentary, and in turn were able to capture the internal workings of an American campaign — the good, the bad and the ugly," Simon said.

In a statement, his cousin Jonathan continued, "We're thrilled to be partnering with Esquire Network, who are tackling topics that are not only popular and entertaining but also smart and thoughtful."

Esquire Network's head of original programming, Matt Hanna, is proud of the project. "Ultimately, This series is a raw and honest look at American politics through an incredibly unique and compelling candidate," he said. "The opportunity to work with amazing documentarians Simon and Jonathan Chinn, gave Esquire Network the perfect opportunity to explore politics and its intersection with celebrity."

(E! and Esquire Network are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)

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