Clay Aiken In Debate For US House District In N.C.

The Republican former nurse who upset a congressman to win a seat in the U.S. House is matching wits with a former entertainer who wants to take her place.

Incumbent Congresswoman Renee Ellmers meets Democrat and former pop singer Clay Aiken for a debate Monday in Pinehurst. They’re vying to represent the 2nd Congressional District. It’s a district shaped like an uneven U that includes Asheboro, Fayetteville, communities surrounding Fort Bragg and suburbs south and west of Raleigh.

The hour-long debate before delegates to a North Carolina Bankers Association conference will be broadcast later Monday by WRAL-TV.

Ellmers is seeking her third term since narrowly beating longtime Democratic congressman Bob Etheridge in 2010.

Photo: Gerry Broome/AP

Speaking to supporters during an election night watch party in Holly Springs, N.C.

Aiken first gained fame as a singer on “American Idol.”

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