In 1988, Gritz was the candidate for Vice President of the United States on the Populist Party ticket; initially, unbeknownst to him, he was billed as the running mate of former Ku Klux Klansman David Duke. Gritz pulled out early in the race and publicly distanced himself from Duke and ran instead for a Nevada Congressional seat. Gritz was then replaced by Floyd Parker on some ballots. Gritz has claimed that he accepted the party's nomination in the belief that he would be the running mate of James Traficant. Shortly after meeting Duke, Gritz wrote that Duke was "a brash, untraveled, overly opinionated, bigoted young man" and that "I will not support anyone that I know to hate any class of Americans."