LOS ANGELES -- Nice guys finish ... second? That's doubly true for Clay Aiken, who ended his American Idol run as runner-up in 2003 and then lost his bid for Congress in 2014.
The Runner-Up, whose trailer Mashable is exclusively debuting, below, explores his political defeat and his ambitious campaign leading up to Aiken's failure to win the seat in the House of Representatives in North Carolina's second district last fall.
Aiken's congressional primary opponent Keith Crisco notably died days after the Democratic primary election in May. Aiken was confirmed as the winner the following day after votes in the tight race showed Aiken edged out Crisco, 11,634 to 11,265.
Aiken, 36, lost to Republican Rep. Renee Ellmers, 59% to 41%, in November's primary.
The Runner-Up, a four-hour docu-series, debuts April 7 at 10 p.m. ET on Esquire Network.