Former American Idol star Clay Aiken on Monday announced that he is running for Congress again in North Carolina. The 43-year-old announced campaign for North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District. He will be running as Democrat for the seat that is currently occupied by Rep. Kathy Manning.

In a campaign kickoff video, Aiken talks about he looks “a little different these days” than when the world first saw him in 2003.

“Back in those days, I was a bright-eyed kid from North Carolina on my way to becoming a special-ed teacher, then, that little singing competition changed everything for me. That was almost 20 years ago, can you believe that?” he said. 

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He participated in the reality show American Idol and was the runner-up. In 2012, he appeared on The Apprentice with former US President Donald Trump.

“A lot has changed for me too. I came home, I came out, I became a father. These days, my life looks a lot more like yours than Justin Bieber’s, that I can promise you,” he continues. “But one thing that has never changed for me is how much I love my home state. North Carolina is the place where I discovered first that I had a voice and that it was a voice that could be used for more than singing.” 

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Slamming controversial Republican figures Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert, he said, “As Democrats, we’ve gotta get better about speaking up and using our voices ’cause those folks ain’t quieting down any time soon. That’s why I’m running for Congress. Here in this community that raised me and where I first discovered my voice. We, as level-headed, open-minded and compassionate Democrats, we have always been the party of all Americans … we’ve got to continue to be that.”