Joe Manchin LEAVES Democratic Party and registers as an Independent as speculation swirls around whether he'll run for an elected office this year

Sen. Joe Manchin switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Independent on Friday, a move that suggests he could be thinking about another run for elected office. 

The switch gives the lifelong conservative Democrat the opportunity to run for Senate or in the governor's race without a party label in increasingly red West Virginia. 

Manchin said he would not run for re-election and said he supported Democrat Steve Williams for governor, but running as an independent could be a work-around. Earlier this year he flirted with the idea of a run for the presidency on an independent ticket. 

Manchin blamed the switched on 'partisan extremism.' 

Speculation has swirled that Manchin, who was governor from 2005 to 2010, could make a last-minute bid for his old seat. 

Sen. Joe Manchin switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Independent on Friday, a move that suggests he could be thinking about another run for elected office

'Today, our national politics are broken and neither party is willing to compromise to find common ground. To stay true to myself and remain committed to put country before party, I have decided to register as an independent with no party affiliation and continue to fight for America’s sensible majority.' 

Manchin has several more weeks to decide whether to mount another bid for the Senate or to run for his old seat in the gubernatorial race. 

Gov. Jim Justice, a Manchin rival, won the GOP primary for Senate and is heavily favored in November. 

Manchin will be the fourth independent who caucuses with Democrats after Sens. Bernie Sanders, Vt., Angus King, Maine and Kyrsten Sinema, Ariz. 

Before Friday he was the state's only congressional Democrat.