--- title: Former Ku Klux Klan Leader David Duke Eyes Steve Scalise's House Seat description: Third-ranking House Republican Steve Scalise may face former Klan leader David Duke. canonical: https://time.com/3690453/david-duke-steve-scalise-2/ author: Charlotte Alter article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-30T21:04:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T04:02:02.180Z article:section: Politics og:title: Former KKK Leader May Run Against Third-Ranking Republican og:description: Scalise had apologized for speaking to David Duke's group earlier. og:url: https://time.com/3690453/david-duke-steve-scalise-2/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt596c75fbc763b9a6/698777983c16397c53450e76/david-duke.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Former Klansman and congressional candidate David Duke discusses his bid for the seat opened by Rep. Bob Livingston during NBC's ''Meet the Press'' on March 28, 1999 in Washington. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Former KKK Leader May Run Against Third-Ranking Republican twitter:description: Scalise had apologized for speaking to David Duke's group earlier. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt596c75fbc763b9a6/698777983c16397c53450e76/david-duke.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Former KKK Leader May Run for Steve's Scalise's House Seat  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Jan 30, 2015 9:04 PM UTC  Former Klansman and congressional candidate David Duke discusses his bid for the seat opened by Rep. Bob Livingston during NBC's ''Meet the Press'' on March 28, 1999 in Washington. Former Klansman and congressional candidate David Duke discusses his bid for the seat opened by Rep. Bob Livingston during NBC's ''Meet the Press'' on March 28, 1999 in Washington.Richard Ellis—Getty Images  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Jan 30, 2015 9:04 PM UTC The third-ranking House Republican may get a chance to differentiate himself from former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke once and for all. Just as he started his tenure as House Majority Whip last month, Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana faced a controversy when a blogger uncovered that he had spoken to a white supremacist group founded by Duke. Scalise later [apologized](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/scalise-apologizes-for-appearance-at-2002-white-supremacist-event/) and argued he was led astray by poor staff work. “It was a mistake I regret, and I emphatically oppose the divisive racial and religious views groups like these hold,” he [said](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/scalise-apologizes-for-appearance-at-2002-white-supremacist-event/) in his apology. Now, it looks like Scalise may get a chance to show exactly how much he disagrees with Duke, as the former Klan leader is considering running against him for Congress. Duke told Louisiana radio host [Jim Engster](http://www.talk1073.com/home/on-demand/jim-engster-show-podcast/186220-Jim-Engster-Squares-Off-With-David-Duke.html) he would consider running against Scalise after he tried to distance himself from EURO “This guy is a sell out,” Duke said. “Why in the world would he apologize? He said specifically that he shouldn’t have gone to European American United Rights Organization, that he shouldn’t have done it, it was a terrible mistake. What he’s basically saying is that 60% of his district, the same people who voted for him, that they’re just a bunch of racists.” Duke noted that his own political priorities were more consistent with Scalise’s constituents, which he described as “opposed to the massive illegal immigration, opposed to welfare reform.” “He can’t meet with members of his own district who have opinions like I have, but he’ll meet with radical blacks who have totally opposite political positions,” Duke said. The former Grand Wizard of the KKK also said that school integration was to blame for America’s education problems. “I think our diversity is our downfall,” he said, before launching into a diatribe about how “European-Americans” are underrepresented at Harvard. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3690453/david-duke-steve-scalise-2/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3690453/david-duke-steve-scalise-2/"},"headline":"Former KKK Leader May Run for Steve's Scalise's House Seat","datePublished":"2015-01-30T21:04:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T04:02:02.180Z","description":"Slams Scalise for apologizing","url":"https://time.com/3690453/david-duke-steve-scalise-2/","keywords":["politics","house","House of Representatives","euro","People","steve scalise"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt596c75fbc763b9a6/698777983c16397c53450e76/david-duke.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlotte Alter","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt596c75fbc763b9a6/698777983c16397c53450e76/david-duke.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Former Klansman and congressional candidate David Duke discusses his bid for the seat opened by Rep. 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