UPDATED, 10:40 a.m.
• The 2nd District congressional ballot may get more crowded, as American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken is “actively considering” a run for the seat now held by Republican Renee Ellmers. The Blade newspaper reports that Aiken, a Democrat, has consulted with Betsy Conti, who was former Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue’s chief of staff from 2002-05. If Aiken runs, he’s likely to face another Perdue confidante: Keith Crisco, an Asheboro businessman and commerce secretary when Perdue was governor. (HT: Under the Dome.)
• The grass-roots group Americans for Prosperity is spending $1.4 million on a statewide media buy for this ad opposing Obamacare and incumbent Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan, WECT reports.
• The Hill picks up on the first ad State House Speaker Thom Tillis, R-Mecklenburg, has launched in his campaign to win the Republican nomination and run against Hagan this fall.
• The Associated Press mentions Hagan in a story on the ways Democrats and Republicans plan to present issues to voters in this year’s election.
• Governing magazine tabs state Rep. Marcus Brandon, D-Guilford, as one of its 12 legislators to watch in 2014. Brandon, a gay African-American supporter of school vouchers, is competing for the Democratic nomination in the race to succeed Rep. Mel Watt in the 12th Congressional District.
• Sanford attorney Robert Reives II becomes the second person to request appointment to the state House seat vacated by Deb McManus. Reives joins former Chatham County school board member Kathy Russell to replace McManus, a Democrat who resigned after being charged with state tax violations.
