Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has confirmed that he will run for re-election in the Senate as an independent in 2018, despite recent pressure from some Democrats to join the party.
Sanders told Fox News of his decision to hold onto his independent status during an interview Sunday night.
“I am an independent and I have always run in Vermont as an independent, while I caucus with the Democrats in the United States Senate. That’s what I’ve been doing for a long time and that’s what I’ll continue to do,” Sanders told Fox News.
Sanders had been facing pressure from some Democrats to officially run as a member of the Democratic party. Sanders caucuses with Democrats in the Senate.
One Democratic National Committee (DNC) member, Bob Mulholland, had introduced a resolution at the party’s fall meeting that would have demanded Sanders and Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) run as Democrats in the future.
However, the resolution failed, falling short of the simple majority it needed to pass.
Sanders sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016, angering some Democrats. He eventually conceded the race to Hillary Clinton.
King has also said that he would run again as an independent in 2018.
“I’ve been an independent since the early nineties. I was a governor as an independent,” King told CNN. “That’s who I am.”
