Former Ku Klux Kandidate tries Again

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana: Trying once again to shrug off his former titles as Nazi and Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard, David Duke is hoping for a new label: U.S. Senator. Duke entered the U.S. Senate race on Wednesday, promising to fight for America's white, Christian heritage if he's elected. "I am not a racist and not a Nazi sympathizer," Duke retorted angrily to questions about his past. Duke said his main focus will be to restore and protect "the prosperity, the heritage and freedom of this country." According to Duke's home page on the Internet, heritage is defined as white and Christian. Duke, along with two Democrats and four other Republicans, is running for the seat held by the retiring Bennett Johnston. Considering his near political successes in the past, the other candidates may get a run for their money. Duke ran for Governor of Louisiana in 1991, and while he was defeated by Edwin Edwards (in a memoriable race that produced the slogan "vote for the crook, not the Nazi") he still received 39 percent of the vote. Duke also grabbed a resounding 44 percent of the vote in a run for the U.S. Senate in 1990. And last month, Republican Governor Mike Foster said he would support Duke if he became the GOP nominee. -->