American Notes ELECTIONS

David Duke claims to have abdicated the title of imperial wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. Now he wants a new one: Louisiana state legislator. Last month Duke, 38, finished first with 33% of the vote in a nonpartisan election for representative from Metairie, a white suburb of New Orleans. In a runoff this week he faces runner-up John Treen, 63, a local builder and the brother of former Governor David Treen. Duke denies he is a racist and says coyly that he supports "civil rights for all people." Duke, who says he heads an outfit called the National Association for the Advancement of White People, still has the same address and phone number as the local Ku Klux Klan headquarters.