Former KKK leader David Duke is running for congress

The former imperial wizard of the Ku Klux Klan has announced he is running for congress.

David Duke, who served one term as a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, said in a video that he believes in “equal rights for all, and respect for all Americans.”

Mr Duke, who founded a KKK chapter in the 1970s, added: “However, what makes me different is I also demand respect for the rights and the heritage of European Americans.”

Mr Duke seeks to take the seat of the outgoing Republican senator David Vitter. He will join more than a dozen other candidates who have entered the race to election.

In the video he also vowed to ”stop the massive immigration and ethnic cleansing of the people whose forefathers created America."

"We cannot have free trade without fair trade."

And he said he was ”overjoyed to see Donald Trump and most Americans embrace most of the issues that [he's] championed for years.”

He ran unsuccessfully for senate in 1990 and for the position of Louisiana governor in 1991. He lost to democrat and ex-convict Edwin Edwards, who employed the famous slogan: “Vote for the crook, it’s important," as reported by NBC news.

His announcement comes the same month that Louisiana is dealing with heightened racial tensions following the police killing black man Alton Sterling, and then police officers being shot a week later in Baton Rouge.

The "white supremacist" initially indicated he wanted to run against Republican representative Steve Scalise, who described himself as “David Duke without the baggage”.

But Mr Duke seems to have given up this quest and run against Mr Vitter instead.

Mr Duke was convicted of withholding money from his supporters and evading taxes. He pleaded guilty in 2002 and is a convicted felon. He spent one year in prison and then denied he had done anything wrong.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee said it would not support his candidacy.

Mr Duke could not be immediately reached for comment.

“Louisiana voters will be able to choose from several Republican Senate candidates who will have a great impact on the Bayou State and the future of our country. David Duke is not one of them,” said the NRSC in a statement.

“He will not have the support of the NRSC under any circumstance.”

Mr Duke responded on a video, uploaded to Twitter, that he “thanked” the RNSC for rejecting him, but predicted he would win by a “landslide” with Louisiana voters, both Democrats and Republicans.