Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, more commonly known as "Joe The Plumber," filed a statement of candidacy to run in Ohio's Ninth District Thursday, according to the Federal Election Commission website. The Joe For Congress 2012 campaign committee also filed a statement of organization Thursday, using Wurzelbacher's home address as the committee's address. The actual scanned documents were not viewable as of Monday afternoon.
Wurzelbacher has been rumored to run for Congress. He told the Toledo Blade in August, "I think it's a very interesting idea…that's as much as I can say." The chairman of county Republican Party where Wurzelbacher resides said there was "high-level interest in the national Republican Party" for his candidacy.
Wurzelbacher was catapulted into the spotlight in October 2008 after he objected to then-candidate Barack Obama's plan to let the Bush tax cuts expire for those making $250,000 or more. Obama replied, "I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody." The McCain/Palin campaign quickly seized on Wurzelbacher as a symbol for their argument of how Obama's policies would hurt working-class Americans.
Subsequent reporting revealed that he wasn't a licensed plumber and would likely get a tax break under Obama's plans. Wurzelbacher later said that McCain "really screwed up my life."
Incumbent Democratic Reps. Marcy Kaptur and Dennis Kucinich have been redistricted into the district encompassing the Lake Erie shoreline from Cleveland to Toledo. Cuyahoga County Republican Chair Rob Frost and technology executive Tom Guarente are also running as Republicans. But given the heavily Democratic makeup of the district, whoever wins the Democratic primary will likely be a heavy favorite in the general election.
