Opponents keep Duke in the spotlight

The Louisiana Democratic Party doesn’t want to see David Duke, the former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard, gain any momentum in his U.S. Senate bid, but its political apparatus is continuing to shine a bright light on the divisive figure.
Top surrogate James Carville, who helped elect former President Bill Clinton, was used for a fundraising appeal to party loyalists last week, on Sept. 6, that focused on nothing else.
“Can you believe it?” Carville wrote in the fundraising email. “David Duke is running again. If I had a dollar for every time David Duke has run for office. We are gonna have to stop him. Duke has been going round the state telling people to vote Trump and vote for him. You have got to be kidding me?”
The next day, Michael McHale, first vice-chair of the party, signed an issues email that sought to link Duke to Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president this year.
“The inmates are running the asylum,” McHale wrote. “With Donald Trump as the Republican nominee, and in our own backyard David Duke running to replace David Vitter in the U.S. Senate, it is clear the alt-right has taken over the Republican Party… Given multiple chances, Donald Trump refused to disavow the KKK, David Duke and other white supremacist groups.”
The Louisiana Democratic Party then started placing web ads with the same themes later that afternoon.
While Duke certainly gives Democrats a foil to campaign against, and his extremist views may be helping with fundraising, others are worried that Duke’s candidacy will be dismissed too quickly or allowed to fly under the radar.
“The struggle for racial, religious and ethnic goodwill is never really done,” said Lawrence Powell, chairman of the Louisiana Coalition Against Racism and Nazism.
The coalition reemerged from being inactive late last month. It was first created for Duke’s 1991 run for governor against Edwin Edwards.
In what could be a sign of things to come for the remainder of the primary, Duke is getting a constant flow of media coverage in the U.S. Senate race for, basically, being Duke.
This is especially troubling for those who believe Duke needs earned media to make a go of his bid — and for those who refuse to underestimate him.
The New York Times published a piece over the weekend with this headline: “David Duke’s Senate Run in Louisiana Draws Attention but Not Support.”
“The less you talk about him, the worse off he gets,” Roy Fletcher, a Republican political consultant, told the New York Times.
How about Rep. Alario?
After 44 years of continuous service in the Louisiana Legislature, and term limits forcing him out of the upper chamber in roughly three and a half years, Senate President John Alario is hinting that he hasn’t ruled out a run for the state House in 2019.
“We’ll see what happens,” Alario said on last week’s episode of The LaPolitics Report podcast. “I want to make sure I live that long. Two things: I didn’t know I’d serve this long or live this long. Both are big achievements for me.”
Alario, 72, said he’s always been interested in the distinction of becoming the longest serving legislator in Louisiana history, a title held by another right now.
“That does come into consideration,” Alario said.
For now he’ll just have to settle for being the second person in America to ever serve as both a House speaker and a Senate president.
“I’m satisfied with that,” added Alario.
New York money for Maness
With a six-figure check from Robert Mercer, the New York conservative bigwig, Warrior PAC is ready to start rolling out its efforts in support of retired Air Force Col. Rob Maness in the U.S. Senate race.
Robert San Luis, the director of the super PAC, did not immediately disclose the full amount but noted the PAC’s cash on hand is now around $324,000.
A sizable portion of this bankroll, well into the six figures, is about to be put into a media buy that will be overseen by Cambridge Analytica and another firm yet to be determined.
For now, Digital billboards from the super PAC touting Maness recently went up in the Lafayette market.
Mercer could become an important political ally for the super PAC. He’s a computer scientist and arguably one of the most influential billionaires in American politics. Maness is a Republican from Mandeville.
Super PACs are a special breed of political action committee that are allowed to raised unlimited amounts in donations.
Legislator eyeing options
While there are no legislative races scheduled for the ballot until 2019, there could potentially be one out of the Big Easy in 2017.
Democratic Rep. Helena Moreno said recently that she may end up running next year for the at-large seat being vacated by New Orleans Councilwoman Stacy Head.
“I’ve very, very, very seriously considering it,” the state representative said.
Moreno added that a final decision will be announced either at the end of this year or at the beginning of 2017.
They Said It
“I think it’s fair to say right now if you’re in Vegas, you’re betting on Clinton.”
—U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, on the presidential race, in The Times-Pic.
“I wouldn’t want me representing me.”
—Insurance attorney Ryan Goodwin, after being drafted for a criminal case due to shortfalls in the Caddo Parish public defender’s office, in The Guardian.
For more Louisiana political news, visit www.LaPolitics.com or follow Jeremy Alford on Twitter @LaPoliticsNow.