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"Keith Crisco, Clay Aiken&amp;apos;s main rival in the Democratic primary for North Carolina&amp;apos;s Second Congressional District seat, died suddenly on Monday, May 12, a spokesperson for his company confirmed to NBC News. He was 71.\r\n\r\nA rep for Asheboro Elastics Corporation, which Crisco owned and co-founded, said he passed away at around 1:30 p.m. The Asheboro Courier-Tribune reported that he appeared to have suffered injuries from a fall at his home.\r\n\r\nCrisco and Aiken had been locked in a too-close-to-call race following last Tuesday&amp;apos;s Democratic primary in North Carolina. As of Monday, Aiken had a lead of 369 votes, with 40.83 percent of the vote. Both candidates were awaiting an official canvassing on Tuesday, May 13; the winner of the primary would face Republican Rep. Renee Ellmers in the general election.\r\n\r\nCrisco previously served as North Carolina&amp;apos;s Secretary of Commerce. In a statement after his death, the North Carolina State Board of Elections expressed condolences and gratitude for his years of hard work.\r\n\r\n&amp;quot;A native of North Carolina, we are grateful for Mr. Crisco&amp;apos;s service to our state and his community through the years,&amp;quot; the board told NBC News. &amp;quot;Our thoughts and prayers are with the Crisco family during this difficult time.&amp;quot;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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