David Duke 1988 presidential campaign
In 1988, David Duke unsuccessfully ran for the presidency of the United States. Duke, a perennial Democratic candidate and Grand Wizard in the Ku Klux Klan announced his intention to seek Democratic nomination for 1988 presidential election on June 8, 1987.
| David Duke For President Committee | |
|---|---|
| Campaign | 1988 United States presidential election (Democratic primaries) |
| Candidate | David Duke Floyd Parker |
| Affiliation | Populist Party (after March 1988) Democratic Party (before March 1988) |
| Status | Announced: June 8, 1987 Won nomination: March 13, 1988 Lost election: November 8, 1988 |
| Key people | Ralph Forbes (campaign manager) Pauline Mackey (treasurer) |
| Receipts | US$575,035.00 (1988-12-31) |
Duke faced opposition from the Democratic Party and appeared on the primary ballot only in a few states. Duke was excluded from the primary debates and lost multiple lawsuits regarding his debate inclusion. His best performance in the Democratic primaries was 3.74% of the popular vote in the Louisiana primary although he did win the New Hampshire vice-presidential primary, but he had mistakenly filed for the vice-presidential primary believing that it had binding delegates.
Duke switched parties and became the presidential candidate for the Populist Party after former Representative George V. Hansen had rejected the party's nomination. Bo Gritz was initially selected to serve as his vice-presidential running mate, but withdrew as he had been told that Representative James Traficant was given the presidential nomination not Duke. Floyd Parker was selected to replace Gritz as Duke's running mate. Duke received 47,047 votes in the general election worth 0.05% of the popular vote.
After his presidential campaign Duke joined the Republican Party and was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives. He ran for United States Senate as a Republican in 1990, 1996, and 2016. He also ran in the 1991 gubernatorial election and in the 1999 special election in Louisiana's 1st congressional district. Duke later stood as Republican presidential candidate in 1992.