For Clay Aiken to win in NC, he’ll have to get past this crowd of Democrats
Former “American Idol” contestant Clay Aiken brought a North Carolina congressional district the attention it deserves.
On Monday, all eyes went to the 6th Congressional District as Aiken launched his bid for the Democratic nomination in the state’s May 17 primary.
And while many of those taking notice, especially pop culture lovers, probably were tuning into this race for the first time, it had already become one of the most interesting in the state.
Besides Aiken, who says he wants to be the first out LGBTQ member of Congress from the South, the Democratic candidates include two state senators, and trailblazers including the first Muslim woman elected to public office in North Carolina and the first Black woman elected to the Orange County commissioners.
North Carolina’s congressional district map, released in November, is tied up in the courts under allegations that state lawmakers violated the state constitution by gerrymandering the districts in favor of Republicans.
Because of that, filing for candidates has been delayed until Feb. 24, candidates don’t fully trust that the current map won’t change and that could lead to district switches at any time before filing ends on March 4.
The 6th Congressional District has already drawn a crowd because of its deeply Democratic set of voters and the fact that an incumbent isn’t seeking reelection. The seat is currently held by Rep. David Price, who announced his retirement.
Here’s who else is running.
First, the Democrats.
Clay Aiken
Age: 43
Occupation: Singer, television personality, actor and activist
Party: Democrat
Aiken is best known for being the runner-up on “American Idol” in 2003. He is a Raleigh native making his second run for Congress. He lost in 2014 against Rep. Renee Ellmers.
Valerie Foushee
Age: 65
Occupation: State senator
Party: Democrat
Foushee is an Orange County native who worked at the Chapel Hill Police Department and volunteered at her children’s school. Her volunteer work launched her into more than 20 years in public service including the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School Board, the Orange County Board of Commissioners and the N.C. House and Senate. She made history by becoming the first Black woman elected to the commissioners.
Wiley Nickel
Age: 46
Occupation: State senator and criminal defense attorney
Party: Democrat
Nickel came to North Carolina in 2009 and lives in Cary. He was on former Vice President Al Gore’s national advance team between 1996 and 2001. He lost a 2006 bid for state Senate in California before he worked on former President Barack Obama’s campaign in 2008 and joined Obama’s national advance team between 2008 and 2011. Obama endorsed Nickel’s campaign for state Senate in 2018. Nickel won that election and is serving in his second term.
Nida Allam
Age: 28
Occupation: Durham County commissioner
Party: Democrat
Allam made history in 2020 by becoming the first Muslim woman elected to public office in North Carolina when she was elected to the Durham County Board of Commissioners. Allam made the choice to enter politics after the 2015 murder of her best friend and two others that some saw as an anti-Muslim hate crime. She worked on various campaigns including that of former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders before she launched her own campaign.
Nathan Click
Age: 40
Occupation: Co-founder of a commercial financing company.
Party: Democrat
Click grew up in Winston-Salem, attended N.C. A&T State University and Oklahoma City University. He’s a U.S. Air Force veteran who served in Operations New Dawn and Enduring Freedom. He then went on to create his own business that helps small- and medium-sized businesses and real estate investors with commercial financing.
Ashley Ward
Occupation: Climate health expert
Party: Democrat
Ward’s ancestors moved to Durham in the 1940s to work in tobacco factories. She met her husband at a community college and he encouraged her at 30 years old to attend a four-year college. She did, and has gone on to get her doctorate. She now works as a climate health researcher.
Richard Watkins
Age: 36
Occupation: Virologist
Party: Democrat
Watkins lives in Durham, was raised in Greensboro, attended Fayetteville State University and received a doctorate from UNC-Chapel Hill in microbiology and immunology, specializing in virology. He founded The Science Policy Action Network, Inc. (SPAN), which is meant to fill the gap between scientific advancements and stakeholders.
Several Republicans are also running in the heavily Democratic district.
Mahesh ‘Max’ Ganorkar
Occupation: Stay-at-home dad
Party: Republican
Ganorkar immigrated to the United States from India and lives in Pittsboro. He said he chose to run in the 6th Congressional District, despite living outside the district, because of its large population of immigrants and in attempt to flip a blue district red. Ganorkar loves to design houses.
Courtney Geels
Occupation: Emergency room nurse
Party: Republican
Geels lives in Durham and works in Wake County as an emergency room nurse. She is a first-time candidate who wants to be an advocate for her patients, small businesses and her community in Congress.
Robert Thomas
Occupation: Attorney and commercial real estate appraiser
Party: Republican
Thomas is a Durham resident making his second run to represent North Carolina in Congress. He ran in 2020 against Price but lost.
For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Under the Dome politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it at link.chtbl.com/underthedomenc or wherever you get your podcasts.
This story was originally published January 13, 2022 at 2:29 PM.