“I welcome the Vermont Democratic Party's work to build bridges and not walls,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt) said. | Getty Sanders to run as a Democrat — but not accept nomination The Vermont senator announces his complicated reelection plans for another term.

Bernie Sanders is running for the Democratic nomination in Vermont — but he won’t accept it if he wins.

The famously independent senator, who briefly joined the Democratic Party to run in the 2016 New Hampshire presidential primary only to un-enroll later, officially announced Monday that he would seek a third term in the Senate this fall. He also said that he’ll pull the same maneuver that he did in his 2006 and 2012 Senate races: Running as a Democrat, declining the nomination when he wins and then running as an independent.


The move makes it virtually impossible for another Democrat to seek the party’s nod. And it allows Sanders to loom large in the party primary in August, but still preserve his independence.

But the move also comes at a time when Sanders supporters are pushing for changes to the presidential nominating process as part of the Democratic National Committee unity reform commission. One priority is to open up the party’s primaries to voters who aren’t registered as Democrats.

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A Sanders spokeswoman did not answer when asked whether the senator considered doing things differently in light of his new party and Senate leadership roles.

The Vermont Democratic Party passed a resolution over the weekend supporting Sanders’ move, proclaiming that he could still be considered a member of the party “for all purposes and entitled to all the rights and privileges that come with such membership at the state and federal level.”

“It’s hard to explain to people from out of state how we’ve made peace with it as a party, how Bernie’s made peace with it. We’re on board,” said Vermont state chairman Terje Anderson.

Anderson pointed out that Sanders appears at party fundraisers, and participates in the coordinated campaign efforts with other Democrats. He acknowledged that the approach probably “intimidates people from running,” but he said that the complaints about this among state Democrats have faded, and the role that Sanders has taken on nationally has helped with that.

“It’s a minority, and it’s a shrinking minority over time as he’s done more and more for the party and with the party,” Anderson said.

Still, Anderson said he’s faced a number of tough questions about this arrangement at DNC meetings over the years.

In a statement, Sanders thanked the state party for the resolution, citing the work that he’s doing pushing for a change in the economy in Vermont and around the country.

“I welcome the Vermont Democratic Party's work to build bridges and not walls,” Sanders said. “Let's fight for our children's future and not over labels."

Amid the bitterness of the 2016 primaries, there had been some chatter among Hillary Clinton supporters of finding a candidate to run against Sanders. Nothing materialized. Nor have any other viable candidates emerged — the filing deadline is next week and Anderson said that he hadn’t heard of anyone else collecting signatures.

But the frustration was still evident among Clinton backers, if not in Vermont.

“And this guy wants to run for the Democratic nomination in 2020 lol,” tweeted Clinton political adviser Adam Parkhomenko.

“Seriously?” tweeted Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill.

Mary Sullivan, a state legislator and DNC member, said Sanders is “very popular, and for very good reason.”

“I’d love for him to accept the nomination and become a Democrat, but it probably won’t happen,” she said. “The most important thing is Bernie Sanders shows the values of the Democratic Party.”

