Former Grand Wizard of the KKK David Duke has announced his intentions to run for a U.S. Senate seat in Louisiana.
Advertisement
Mr Edwards said Mr Duke would have a “hard row to hoe” in the upcoming election but there might be a “niche” for him.
“After the great outpouring of overwhelming support, I’m proud to announce my candidacy for United States Senate”, Duke said in the video. “I was the first major candidate in modern times to promote the policy of ‘America first'”.
Duke said that “thousands of special interest groups stand up for African Americans, Mexican Americans, Jewish Americans, et cetera, et cetera”, but that European Americans need just one man in Congress who would defend their rights and heritage.
“We will not support David Duke”, National Republican Senatorial Committee Executive Director Ward Baker tweeted.
One of the 22 other candidates for the seat being vacated by David Vitter, Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell, a Bossier Parish Democrat, quickly reacted with a statement: “David Duke’s destructive rhetoric and legacy have the potential to rip our state and our country apart”.
“David Duke is a convicted felon and a hate-filled fraud who does not embody the values of the Republican Party”, chairman Roger Villere said in a statement.
Duke, a Republican who served one term in the Louisiana House, hasn’t run for office since 1999.
The Republican Party of Louisiana said Duke history of “hate” causes them to oppose his candidacy. But he was a factor in other races, especially in the 1990s, most notably making the runoff for governor in 1991 before losing to former governor Edwin Edwards.
Trump made illegal immigration and renegotiating trade deals to benefit America key focal points of his speech accepting the Republican nomination for president on Thursday.
Because Boustany and Fleming are running for the Senate, their open House seats have drawn many candidates.
The announcement makes Duke a high-profile character in the unfolding drama of an election season defined by racial animosity. “We’re not leading. And the world’s on fire”, he said. Duke also says that a “revolution is coming for the real people”, the vast majority of the American people.
In a lengthy speech, Duke said the recent slayings of three law enforcement officers in Baton Rouge were among the catalysts for his Senate bid. More than 20 Republican, Democratic and Independent candidates will be on the ballot on November 8; under Louisiana’s primary rules, if no candidate receives a majority, there will be a two-candidate runoff on December 10.
Duke is a former state representative who represented suburban New Orleans for a single term more than two decades ago and was an unsuccessful candidate for Congress. David Vitter, who declined to run for re-election after a failed gubernatorial bid previous year.
Advertisement
At the same time, Louisiana voters might hesitate, given Duke’s racial views, “even if there are elements of his message that resonate with them”. He pleaded guilty in December 2002 to felony tax fraud. He spent a year behind bars in federal prison.
