David Duke 1988 presidential campaign

David Duke was a Grand Wizard in the Ku Klux Klan from 1974 to 1980, which he was inspired to join after meeting William Luther Pierce, the leader of the white nationalist National Alliance. After failing to win Louisiana State Senate elections in 1975 and 1979, Duke started his first presidential campaign for the Democratic nomination in 1980 where he would found the National Association for the Advancement of White People, but he quickly withdrew from the election due to a series of highly publicized violent Klan incidents.

On June 8, 1987, Duke, standing beside 30 supporters, announced on the steps of the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta, Georgia, that he would run for the Democratic nomination for president.[2][3] Duke had attempted to announce his campaign at two Atlanta hotels, but his reservation at both were cancelled as they stated that his appearance posed a threat to their safety.[4] His candidacy was attacked with Paul G. Kirk, the Democratic National Committee Chairman, stating that Duke's attempt at the party's nomination was "fraud on the process and the public" and that they would attempt to prevent him from gaining primary ballot access. Kirk compared Duke's candidacy to that of Lyndon LaRouche's many attempts at the Democratic nomination and how the Democratic Party had fought against him as well.[5][6]

Shortly after his announcement Duke appeared on an Atlanta WSGT radio station which caused multiple protests around the station and call-ins meant to disrupt the radio station.[7] A week later he pled no contest to a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of a roadway from when he was involved in an incident during a civil rights march in Forsyth County in January.[8]

Duke was excluded from all of the primary debates and he filed an $1 million lawsuit against the Democratic Party for not allowing him to participate at the November 2, 1987, debate at Tulane University stating that his right to freedom of speech was violated, but it was dismissed by a New Orleans federal judge in March 1988.[9]

Duke, a white supremacist, hated the black civil rights activist Jesse Jackson and his "Rainbow Coalition" and he claimed to command his "Sunshine Coalition" in opposition.[10] Duke lost in his home state of Louisiana to Jesse Jackson where he only received 4% of the vote, but Duke managed to win the 1988 New Hampshire Vice-Presidential primary in a landslide with 10,531 votes for 99.69% of the vote.[11][12] After failing to gain any traction in the Democratic primaries he dropped out and became the presidential candidate for the Populist Party.

On March 7, 1987, David Duke gave his speech at the Populist Party National Committee in Sewickly, Pennsylvania, in which he said "This was the largest pro-white demonstration I`ve ever seen," in regards to the 3,000 people there and "There are going to be tremendous opportunities to take this country back for the founding majority".[13] On March 13 the Populist Party gave Duke its presidential nomination with Bo Gritz as his vice presidential running mate although he would later withdraw stating that he had been told that Representative James Traficant had been given the presidential nomination.[14] Duke had managed to take the nomination due to the Populist Party's financial and organizational failures at the time which caused him to run unopposed after all of his opponents had already stopped running.[13] On September 27, 1988, he was removed from a Paramus restaurant by its owner after making an unannounced campaign event where he was to debate a Libertarian party member at it after another restaurant cancelled his event after learning about him.[15]

In the majority of the states he appeared on the ballot with Floyd Parker, while in other states it was Trenton Stokes and received 47,047 votes, for 0.04 percent of the national popular vote with his best showing being in his home state of Louisiana where he won 1% of the vote.