Don Blankenship, the colorful and controversial Republican who recently came up short in West Virginia's Senate primary, announced Monday he will throw his hat back in the ring with a third-party bid. 

That is, if Blankenship's candidacy is legally allowed.

His renewed candidacy flies in the face of a West Virginia law designed to prevent exactly this scenario. The "sore loser" or "sour grapes" statute bars candidates who ran and lost in a primary election from changing over to a minor party and running again.

The once-jailed ex-coal baron ran for the Republican nomination and came in third place during the May primary, losing the GOP nod to state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey.

In a statement released Monday, Blankenship alludes to the state's laws, surmising that the "establishment" that has long been against his candidacy will likely try to mount legal challenges against him. "[I]f challenged — our legal position will prevail," Blankenship promised, "absent a politically motivated decision by the courts." 

"This time we won't get surprised by the lying establishment," Blankenship said Monday, referencing the wide range of conservatives — from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to President Donald Trump — that came out against his candidacy before the GOP primary. 

Both Trump, McConnell, and Trump's own son Donald Jr. warned that Blankenship wouldn't be able to win against Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in the state that Trump won by 42 points in November 2016. Blankenship on Monday called that charge "a lie." 

If he is on the ballot in November, however, Blankenhip could threaten to complicate Republicans' hopes of unseating Manchin. Blankenship earned the support of 20 percent of GOP voters during the primary earlier this month.