After months of speculation, former "American Idol" star Clay Aiken formally announced on Wednesday that he is running for Congress in North Carolina, the New York Daily News reported.
"I saw this as the best place I could serve because I think Washington, in general, is dysfunctional," Aiken said to NewsObserver. "I think it's high time we put people in Congress who were not beholden to their party and not beholden to anything but the people who they live around and grew up around, in my case."
The 35-year-old singer will face two candidates in the Democratic primary -- Keith Crisco, former state commerce secretary, and Toni Morris, a counselor. If he wins the primary, he will run against Republican Rep. Renee Ellmers (NC-02), who has held the seat since 2010.
In his campaign video, Aiken claims Ellmers was "changed" by Washington.
"She ended up in D.C. and was changed by it," he said in the video. "I went to Hollywood and didn't let it change me. I won't go to Washington and let it change me."
However, even before rumors of Aiken running for office became serious, Ellmers told a Washington radio station that she thought he might be considering a run because he was "bored."
"Apparently his performing career isn't going so well and he's bored," she said to the station.
Despite her comments, Aiken siid he doesn't plan on running a campaign based on attacks.
"I will say it's pretty sad that I didn't even get a chance to get into the race before the mud started being thrown around," he said to the NewsObserver. "That's not the kind of campaign I'm going to run. Maybe I should be flattered that she's worried enough she thinks she needs to stomp me down."
