Clay Aiken speaks to supporters during an election night watch party in Holly Springs, N.C., on Tuesday, May 6, 2014. Aiken is seeking the Democratic nomination for North Carolina's 2nd Congressional District.

"American Idol" entertainer Clay Aiken has won a hotly contested Democratic primary for a North Carolina congressional seat.

The county-by-county unofficial tally posted by the state Tuesday of the 2nd Congressional District race confirms Aiken got more than 40 percent needed to win in the three-candidate race. It came a day after his closest rival died suddenly in a home accident.

The results will become official after a review by the state elections board. Elections board spokesman Joshua Lawson says that meeting is tentatively scheduled for May 22.

Second-place finisher Keith Crisco died on Monday. His campaign manager, Christine Botta, says Crisco had decided just before he died to concede his loss to Aiken.