For nearly all of his political career Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont has officially run as an independent. In 2015 he entered the presidential race as a Democrat, losing the nomination in 2016 to Hillary Clinton. After the election, Sanders rejected his affiliation with the Democratic Party, and once again registered as an independent.

Several weeks ago, Sanders announced he is again running for president, and – despite new DNC rules – he will be running as a Democrat.

To avoid candidates using the party’s resources while not actually supporting it, the Democratic National Committee established a rule mandating that candidates who run as Democrats must be declared Democrats for at least 30 days prior to that announcement.

But as The Daily Beast reports, Sanders just filed for his 2024 Senate campaign re-election bid, and again registered as an independent.

Bernie Sanders has officially filed for reelection in 2024 as an independent, meaning he's currently running for office under two different party IDs pic.twitter.com/4tBE5aiIfp

— Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) March 4, 2019

It’s unclear whether this move is a flagrant violation of the new DNC rules. The Sanders campaign has said it would sign a form promising that he would run and, should he win the White House, serve as a Democrat.

IMAGE: Bernie Sanders speaks at his presidential campaign headquarters in Washington June 14, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque