BATON ROUGE (WGNO) – Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate. Duke’s announcement came in the form of a video he posted to YouTube on Friday.
Duke is seeking to fill an open seat vacated by Louisiana Republican David Vitter. Qualifying for that race closes Friday (July 22) afternoon.
After graduating from Louisiana State University, Duke founded the Louisiana-based Knights of the Ku Klux Klan where he promoted nonviolence and legality. Duke would repeatedly insist that his views were “not anti-black”, but rather “pro-white” and “pro-Christian.” Duke left the Klan in 1980 because he could not stop members from doing “stupid or violent things,” The Daily Telegraph reports.
In 1989, Duke successfully ran for a Louisiana House seat representing Metairie. He served only one term.
In the 90s, Duke ran unsuccessfully for several U.S. Senate seat, for Louisiana governor, and even for President of the United States.