US Senator Sanders Won’t Join Democratic Party Despite New Leadership Post

Despite his new position in the party’s leadership in the Senate, Bernie Sanders said Thursday that he will serve the remainder of his six-year term as an independent and not as a Democrat.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US Senator Bernie Sanders said Thursday that he will serve the remainder of his six-year term as an independent and not as a Democrat, despite his new position in the party’s leadership in the Senate.

"I was elected as an independent and I will finish this term as an independent," Sanders told the audience at an event hosted by the Christian Science Monitor news outlet.

The Vermont senator was elected to a second Senate term in 2012 and is up for re-election in 2018.

Sanders will serve as the Senate Democrats’ outreach coordinator in the 115th Congress, which convenes in January.