Duke is one of nine Republicans running for the seat in a field of 23 candidates that includes GOP Reps.
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“I’m proud to announce my candidacy for the United States Senate”, Duke said in a video. “However, what makes me different is I also demand respect for the rights and heritage of European Americans”.
Duke, a vocal Trump supporter, announced his candidacy for the seat in Louisiana on Friday and said he was “overjoyed” to see the businessman’s campaign “embrace most of the issues that I’ve championed for years”, including the nationalist and protectionist notion of “America First”.
“Thousands of special interest groups stand up for African Americans, Mexican Americans, Jewish Americans, etc., etc.”, Duke said.
Duke, a former Republican state representative and convicted felon, said his emphasis on the rights of European Americans is what distinguishes him. He hasn’t voted since 2000.
Republicans at the state and federal level quickly denounced Duke’s Senate bid.
If elected, Duke would succeed Republican David Vitter, who is not seeking reelection after losing his bid for the governorship a year ago. The Party of Lincoln and Reagan is on that recognizes the inherent value of every human life, regardless of age, religion or race. David Duke’s history of hate marks a dark stain on Louisiana’s past and has no place in our current conversation.
Roger Villere, chairman of the Republican Party of Louisiana, said the party “will play an active role in opposing” him. It’s a two-word phrase that Trump also used in his speech Thursday night at the Republican National Convention.
Ward Baker, with the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said Louisiana voters have several GOP candidates “who will have a great impact on the Bayou State and the future of our country”.
“Just so you understand, I don’t know anything about David Duke, OK?” “He will not have the support of the NRSC under any circumstance”, Baker said in a statement.
Much like his inspiration Donald Trump, the former Klan leader claimed a cross-section of the Bernie Sanders electorate as his own – or at least attempted to – by saying that “a revolution is coming in the United States of America”.
In his last race for Congress in 1999, Duke finished third and out of the runoff in an election eventually won by Vitter.
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On Friday, Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks said Trump “has disavowed David Duke and will continue to do so”. There are now 23 candidates in the race including a retired colonel who joined the fight today. Bill Cassidy and former senator Mary Landrieu, a Democrat. “They have the power to declare war”. He was the Pentagon during the 9-11 attacks and said he wrote three of the 40-page manual that travels with the president and guides decision-making during times of crisis. Both the Orlando and San Bernardino terrorists claimed allegiance to the Islamic State. He pledged to protect U.S.jobs and businesses, while pursuing total campaign reform and enforcing antitrust laws to break up what he called huge anti-American U.S. media conglomerates. But the Secretary of State’s Office pointed to state law that forbid candidates from using a title or designation. The seat is open because Vitter decided not to seek re-election on the November 8 ballot.
