BATON ROUGE, La. – Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, an avowed white supremacist, officially signed up Friday to run for U.S. Senate in Louisiana.
“The climate of this country has moved in my direction,” Duke said as he walked in to register.
Duke’s candidacy comes as the state is grappling with deep racial tensions after the shooting death of a black man by white police officers and the killing of three law enforcement officers by a black man. It also comes one day after Donald Trump accepted the GOP nomination for president.
In a video released on his website before he signed up, Duke said, “I’m overjoyed to see Donald Trump and most Americans embrace most of the issues that I’ve championed for years. My slogan remains America first.”
He also said in the video, “I believe in equal rights for all and respect for all Americans. However, what makes me different is I also demand respect for the rights and heritage of European Americans.”