Sen. Joe Manchin's Wife, 76, Hospitalized Following Car Crash During Business Trip

Gayle Conelly Manchin is in "stable condition" and will remain hospitalized for a couple of days, according to the West Virginia lawmaker

Sen. Joe Manchin's wife, Gayle Conelly Manchin, has been hospitalized and is in "stable condition" following a car crash, according to the West Virginia lawmaker.

"On Monday, my wife Gayle and her colleague Guy Land were involved in a car accident on the way from the airport to the hotel in Birmingham, Alabama for an Appalachian Regional Commission event that was planned for today," Manchin announced in a statement issued Tuesday morning.

In its own statement, ARC elaborated that "another vehicle struck their car" while they were driving to attend a grant workshop.

Sen. Manchin said that both Gayle and Land were admitted to a local hospital where they are receiving "excellent care," adding, "[Gayle] remains in stable condition but will stay there for a couple of days for precautionary measures."

Related: Joe Manchin's Possible Third-Party Presidential Run Could Massively Impact U.S. Politics

Gayle, 76, is the former first lady of West Virginia, who later served as president of the West Virginia Board of Education and as the state's secretary of education and the arts under Republican Gov. Jim Justice.

She is currently the federal co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission.

Sen. Manchin has been in the news recently for mulling a possible third-party presidential run after making a surprise announcement in November that he wouldn't seek reelection to the U.S. Senate. Manchin is a rare Democrat elected to represent a deeply conservative state, and his retirement from Congress effectively hands his Senate seat to the Republican Party.

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In November, the outgoing senator said he was "having a hard time" with his plans for the future, telling reporters during an event in Charleston: “The two-party system, unless it changes, will be the downfall of our country," the Associated Press reported.

In January, when asked again if he would consider joining a third-party ticket, Manchin suggested that he needs to see how the primary elections play out first. "If there's going to be an option or a need for an option, you'll find out by [Super Tuesday]," he told reporters. "By March, you're going to have pretty much a lay of the land and what you're going to have and what you're going to be offered."

Manchin was the governor of West Virginia from 2005 until 2010, when he was elected to the Senate in a special election. His tenure in Congress has courted controversy among fellow Democrats, as he's repeatedly blocked the party's agenda to appease his conservative voter base.

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