Retiring Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., a longtime conservative Democrat who announced his registration as an independent last week, on Monday said that he has no plans to run for office in the current election cycle but did not rule out the possibility of a future political bid.

“I am not running,” Manchin told MetroNews on Monday. However, when asked about a future run, he added, “I’ve never closed doors. You don’t know what the political arena is going to have. You don’t know what’s going to happen in this toxic political world. So I’ve never shut down any options whatsoever. But I have no intentions of running for any political office, elected office.”

Last week, Manchin dismissed speculation about his participation in West Virginia’s gubernatorial race and expressed his support for Steve Williams, the Democratic nominee.

Manchin has served as West Virginia’s governor for six years before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010. He has often diverged from the Democratic Party line. Last week, his independence culminated in his decision to leave the party.

“I’ve always been independent,” Manchin said. “You know, I’ve never been wedded to any party.”

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