Ex-KKK Leader David Duke Announces He’s Running for Senate

Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke talks to the media at the Louisiana Secretary of State’s office in Baton Rouge, La., on Friday, July 22, 2016, after registering to run for the U.S. Senate, saying “the cli”.

Duke made the announcement on his website. “However, what makes me different is that I also respect and demand the respect for the rights and heritage of European Americans”.

He said his platform has now become “mainstream” Republican Party views.

“We must stop the massive immigration and ethnic cleansing of people whose forefathers created America”, Duke said in a video posted to his website one day after Trump claimed the Republican presidential nomination.

Edwards noted that unlike some other candidates in the crowded field, Duke already has plenty of statewide name recognition.

Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, tells Newsweek it won’t help Trump that Duke has re-emerged in the public eye, and says he expects Trump to be questioned about Duke’s support.

Trump’s campaign didn’t release any statement on Duke Friday.

“Thousands of special interest groups stand up for African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, Jewish-Americans”.

Duke founded a KKK chapter in 1974, and won a seat in the Louisiana legislature 15 years later.

“There are a lot of strong conservative candidates in the race, but he remains a visible person with name recognition around the country”, Louisiana State University political-communication professor Martin Johnson said in an interview. With the GOP having formally nominated a sexist, xenophobic demagogue, and with their statewide candidates here in Louisiana working to elect that same sort of hatred and divisiveness to the presidency– it’s inevitable that a racist horror like Duke would be emboldened to run, and to run as a Republican.

Right now, there are more than a dozen candidates running for retiring Sen.

Edwards said Duke would have a “hard row to hoe” in the upcoming election but there might be a “niche” for him.

Shortly after Trump ended his speech, Duke tweeted, “Great Trump Speech, America First!”. David Vitter, who declined to run for re-election after a failed gubernatorial bid previous year.

Representatives from the Republican Party nationally were equally unimpressed and said Duke would not have the support of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. 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.

“I strongly denounce the racism, bigotry and anti-Semitism of David Duke”. Duke served one term as a state representative more than 20 years ago and has run unsuccessfully since then for higher office. He pleaded guilty in December 2002 to felony tax fraud.

Maness spent more than 30 years in the military, focusing on national security issues.