A crowded field of six candidates for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) debated at the historically black Dillard University in New Orleans on Wednesday night, and while many of the candidates traded barbs, much of the attention was on former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke, who is running as a Republican, to the chagrin of the Republican Party. The frontrunner in the race is John Kennedy, Louisiana's Republican state treasurer, who called Duke "a convicted liar and a convicted felon" and told him "it must be terrible to wake up with that much hate in your heart."
One of the Democrats, Caroline Fayard, called Duke a "snake" who'd "slithered out of the swamp," said he shouldn't even have been there since he polled at 5 percent, and urged voters to "cut the head off of his hatred." The most notable moment of the debate came when the moderator asked Duke why his website had references to "CNN Jews." "There is a problem in America with a very strong, powerful tribal group that dominates our media, dominates our international banking," Duke said, adding, "I'm not opposed to all Jews." He also talked about "a cabal in this government that literally controls our foreign policy," singling out Hillary Clinton for supporting Saudi Arabia. "The lady should be getting the electric chair, being charged with treason," he said. Clinton knew the Saudis were supporting ISIS, he added, "and she told it secretly to Goldman Sachs in her emails, but she didn't tell the public."
The sponsor of the debate, Raycom Media, decided not to allow an audience or the media in the debate hall, so the six candidates spoke to an empty room. Protesters did try to break in, scuffling with police and trading pepper spray. There were no arrests reported.
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