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David Duke 1992 presidential campaign

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David Duke for President
Campaign1992 United States presidential election (Republican primaries)
Candidate
AffiliationRepublican Party
Status
  • Announced: December 4, 1991
  • Withdrew: April 22, 1992
Key peopleHowie Farrell (campaign director)[1]
ReceiptsUS$363,464.00[2] (1992-12-31)

The 1992 presidential campaign of David Duke, a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives who had unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1980 presidential election and 1988 presidential election, was formally launched on December 4, 1991, as Duke announced his intention to seek the Republican Party nomination for the presidency of the United States in the 1992 presidential election.

Background

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David Duke became the Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in 1974 and held the position until 1980. He ran for a seat in the Louisiana State Senate in 1975 and 1979, but lost both times. He left the Ku Klux Klan in 1980, after he was accused of trying to sell the organization's mailing list for $35,000. He founded the National Association for the Advancement of White People and served as its president after leaving the Klan.[3][4]

He ran for the Democratic presidential nomination during the 1980 presidential election. Despite being six years too young to be qualified to run for president Duke attempted to place his name onto the ballot in twelve states stating that he wanted to be a power broker who could "select issues and form a platform representing the majority of this country" at the Democratic National Convention.[5][6] On June 8, 1987, Duke announced that he would run for the Democratic nomination for president and appeared on the ballot in a few states.[7][8][9] He later won the presidential nomination of the Populist Party and took 47,047 votes for 0.05% of the popular vote in the general election.[10][11]

On December 5, 1988, Duke changed his political affiliation to Republican and ran in a special election for a seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives, which he won on February 18, 1989.[12] Duke later ran for United States Senate as a Republican in 1990, and for Governor of Louisiana in 1991.[13][14][15][16]

Campaign

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Announcement

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Duke initially planned to announce his presidential campaign on December 2, 1991, but postponed the announcement.[17] Duke announced at the National Press Club conference room in Washington, D.C. on December 4, that he would seek the presidential nomination of the Republican Party against incumbent President George H. W. Bush, who he criticized for signing the Civil Rights Act of 1991. He planned to use his primary campaign to launch an independent third-party campaign in the general election.[18]

Clayton Yeutter, the chair of the Republican National Committee, stated that Duke was a "full-time con man" who would not win the Republican nomination and that he couldn't "see any likelihood that he will garner any significant support".[19] Billy Nungesser, the chair of the Republican Party of Louisiana, stated that "George Bush is going to be elected president. Nothing David Duke or the Democrats or anybody else does will stop that. We're going to re-elect George Bush and he's going to carry this state again" and that the media had created Duke.[20] Mississippi Governor Kirk Fordice stated that Duke was "total unacceptable", was "not going anywhere", and that he was not a real Republican. Evelyn McPhail, the chair of the Mississippi Republican Party, stated that Bush would easily defeat Duke.[21]

Republican primaries

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Duke attempted to place his name onto the primary ballot in Illinois, but the Illinois State Board of Elections voted unanimously in favor of keeping Duke off the ballot as he had failed to collect enough signatures to gain ballot access. Dawn Larson, who had worked for Paul Simon's presidential campaign in 1988, helped Duke in his effort to get onto the Illinois ballot. Larson would later work for Ross Perot's presidential campaign and became chair of the Illinois Reform Party and later worked to help Perot's campaign get onto the Illinois ballot in 1996.[22]

The executive committee of the Mississippi Republican Party voted to make its primary be winner-take all for the first time and McPhail stated the change was not in response to Duke's campaign.[23] Secretary of the Commonwealth Michael J. Connolly and Leon Lombardi, the chair of the Massachusetts Republican Party, attempted to prevent Duke from appearing on the ballot in Massachusetts, but Connolly allowed him to appear on the ballot after a lawsuit was threatened.[24][25] The list of candidates to appear on the primary ballot submitted by the Republican Party of Florida excluded Duke and every Republican member of the Florida Senate signed a petition criticizing Duke's "divisive positions".[26][27]

Duke was barred from appearing on the primary ballot in Rhode Island due to his candidacy not being discussed by major news outlets. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on January 7, 1992, and won in Duke v. Connell, 790 F. Supp. 50 with the judge stating that the election laws were too vague.[28][29][25] He filed lawsuits to appear on the ballot in Florida and Georgia, but lost.[30][31]

Duke was undecided over whether or not to enter the primary in Pennsylvania.[32]

Duke debated future Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker on television over whether or not Duke should be allowed on the Wisconsin presidential primary ballot.[33][34]

Duke threatened to run as an independent during the primary.[35] On April 22, 1992, Duke ended his presidential campaign and stated that he would not continue his campaign in the general election as an independent or third-party candidate stating that "Perot's candidacy would preclude other third-party candidacies". Claiborne Darden, an Atlanta pollster, stated that "there is no question that Duke would have done better if Buchanan had not gotten into the race," and Duke stated that "the publicity went to Buchanan". At the time Duke ended his campaign he had around $60,000 in debt.[36]

Despite having dropped out Duke received 6,667 votes, worth 2.19% of the popular vote, in the Republican primary in Oregon which caused The Oregonian editorial board to write an editorial entitled "Duke vote a disgrace" where the editorial board criticized the large number of votes for Duke and how Oregon still needed to combat racism.[37][38]

Duke received 119,115 (0.94%) votes in the primaries, but no delegates to the 1992 Republican National Convention.

Aftermath

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During the 1996 presidential election Buchanan sought the Republican nomination. William Carter, who served as the chair of Duke's campaign in South Carolina in 1992, served on Buchanan's South Carolina steering committee until his removal in February 1996. Buchanan stated that he didn't "want anybody in our campaign who's associated with any organization today that is racist or has any ties to these groups which I find deeply offensive". Duke supported Buchanan during the 1996 campaign and attempted to welcome Buchanan at a campaign rally in Metairie, Louisiana, but Buchanan rejected Duke's support stating that "He supports me. I don't support him" and that "I eliminated David Duke as a serious national figure in the Republican Party. I'm proud of having done so and I'm not going to go back and check the resume of everyone who happens to wander into my campaign". Sandy Lamb, who was the chair of Buchanan's campaign in a county in Florida, was also fired for being a member of the National Association for the Advancement of White People. Vincent Bruno, who served as an adviser to Duke's gubernatorial campaign in 1991, was elected as a delegate to the Republican National Convention. Bruno and two other Buchanan delegates from Louisiana had connections to Duke.[39][40]

Campaign finance

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Candidate Campaign committee
Raised Total contrib. Ind. contrib. Pres. pub. funds Spent
David Duke[41] $372,146.00 $221,854.00 $221,945.00 $0.00 $457,449.00

Results

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1992 Republican presidential primaries
State Vote percentage Votes Result Reference
Oklahoma
2.61 / 100
 5,672 Lost [42]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "ACLU offers Duke legal aid to write name on R.I. ballot". The Clarion-Ledger. January 1, 1992. p. 12. Archived from the original on December 14, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "DAVID DUKE FOR PRESIDENT (92)". December 4, 1991.
  3. ^ "Duke: The Ex-Nazi Who Would Be Governor". The New York Times. November 10, 1991. Archived from the original on March 2, 2021.
  4. ^ "From Klan: Rival Says Duke's Resignation Forced". The Daily Advertiser. July 24, 1980. p. 1. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Duke to run". The Times. May 21, 1979. p. 10. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Ku Klux Klansman egged on Alexandria street". The Times. June 23, 1979. p. 4. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Former KKK leader running for president". The Morning Call. June 10, 1987. p. 2. Archived from the original on November 10, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Ex-Klan leader moves campaign kickoff to Atlanta". Alabama Journal. June 9, 1987. p. 6. Archived from the original on November 10, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Democratic Outsiders" (PDF). Ballot Access News. February 24, 1988. p. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 7, 2021.
  10. ^ "Populist Party" (PDF). Ballot Access News. March 23, 1988. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 17, 2021.
  11. ^ "1988 presidential results by state" (PDF). Federal Election Commission. June 1, 1989. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 13, 2021.
  12. ^ "Duke Victory" (PDF). Ballot Access News. February 27, 1989. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 6, 2021.
  13. ^ "David Duke sets sights on Senate". Daily World. December 5, 1989. p. 2. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Rivals unconcerned about David Duke". The Daily Advertiser. September 9, 1995. p. 2. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "David Duke, Ex-K.K.K. Leader, to Seek Senate Seat in Louisiana". The New York Times. July 26, 2016. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021.
  16. ^ "David Duke". Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021.
  17. ^ "David Duke postpones announcement on plans". The Town Talk. December 2, 1991. p. 4. Archived from the original on May 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "David Duke takes aim at presidency La. legislator unveils GOP primary bid". The Baltimore Sun. December 5, 1991. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021.
  19. ^ "Yeutter: Duke won't win much support". The Town Talk. December 2, 1991. p. 4. Archived from the original on May 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Duke creation of the media, state GOP chairman says". The Daily Review. December 3, 1991. p. 4. Archived from the original on May 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Duke announcement not warmly received". The Daily Review. December 5, 1991. p. 4. Archived from the original on May 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "PEROT'S STATE PARTY CHIEF AIDED EX-KLANSMAN DUKE". Chicago Tribune. August 13, 1996. Archived from the original on May 22, 2021.
  23. ^ "Changes likely to benefit Bush". Hattiesburg American. December 11, 1991. p. 9. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "Duke, 9 others qualify". The Clarion-Ledger. December 14, 1991. p. 1. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ a b "ACLU sues to get Duke's name on ballot". Pensacola News Journal. January 8, 1992. p. 3. Archived from the original on December 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "Florida GOP excludes Duke from list of names for presidential primary". The Palm Beach Post. January 1, 1992. p. 12. Archived from the original on December 14, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ "Republicans: Duke won't be on ballot". Miami Herald. January 7, 1992. p. 50. Archived from the original on December 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ^ "Rhode Island Republicans Worry that Rhode Island Presidential Primary Ballot Access is Too Strict". Ballot Access News. December 27, 2011. Archived from the original on January 13, 2022.
  29. ^ "More Citations Found That Support Rick Perry's Argument Against Laches". Ballot Access News. January 16, 2012. Archived from the original on January 13, 2022.
  30. ^ "U.S. District Court Denies Injunctive Relief in Rocky De La Fuente Georgia Presidential Primary Case". Ballot Access News. January 17, 2020. Archived from the original on January 13, 2022.
  31. ^ "For First Time Since 1916, a Minnesota Party Other than the Democratic and Republican Parties Has Its Own Presidential Primary". Ballot Access News. May 3, 2019. Archived from the original on January 13, 2022.
  32. ^ "David Duke Undecided On PA. Run". The Morning Call. January 5, 1992. Archived from the original on May 22, 2021.
  33. ^ "Scott Walker Debated David Duke In 1992!? Yep, And There's Video". Talking Points Memo. September 16, 2015. Archived from the original on May 22, 2021.
  34. ^ "Scott Walker squared off with David Duke in 1992, website reports". The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate. September 16, 2015. Archived from the original on May 22, 2021.
  35. ^ "Duke vows to fight GOP rejection". Tampa Bay Times. January 8, 1992. p. 16. Archived from the original on December 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  36. ^ "Duke Ends Presidential Bid, Blames Hostile GOP". Los Angeles Times. April 23, 1992. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021.
  37. ^ "1992 Primary Results in Oregon". Oregon Secretary of State. p. 14. Archived from the original on May 23, 2021.
  38. ^ "Klansman-turned-candidate David Duke's 1992 showing in Oregon, elsewhere signaled racism's return to politics". The Oregonian. June 22, 2020. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021.
  39. ^ "Duke 1992 Chairman Removed From Buchanan Campaign". Associated Press. February 23, 1996. Archived from the original on May 22, 2021.
  40. ^ "Buchanan S.C. Leader Out; Ties With Duke". CNN. Archived from the original on May 22, 2021.
  41. ^ "DUKE, DAVID E." January 1987.
  42. ^ "1992 Oklahoma election results" (PDF). Oklahoma Secretary of State. p. C4. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 15, 2023.
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