State Sen. Bill Eigel, one of the leading candidates for Missouri governor in the Republican Party, underwent surgery Sunday after some food lodged in his throat, his campaign manager said in an email to The Independent.

Eigel has been absent from his duties as a lawmaker for the past two days and will return Wednesday, said Sophia Shore, his campaign manager.

Eigel was at home when the incident occurred.

“Bill had to visit the emergency room after food got lodged in his esophagus,” she wrote. “The procedure to clear the blockage was successful.”

Eigel returned home on Sunday, she wrote.

“He received great care and sends his thanks to the doctors and nurses,” Shore wrote.

Eigel is one of eight candidates who have filed for the Republican nomination for governor. Eigel’s main rivals for the nomination so far are Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe and Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft.

He won election to the Senate in 2016. In recent years, he has been a vocal critic of the GOP leadership in the Republican majority chamber. He was a founding member of the since-dissolved conservative caucus and one of the leading members of the Missouri Freedom Caucus, a chapter of a national conservative organization.

“He will be back to fighting the swamp in no time,” Shore wrote.

For more from our partner, click here to subscribe.