Joe the Plumber

Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher (December 3, 1973 – August 27, 2023), better known as Joe the Plumber, was an American commentator, motivational speaker and political activist. He had conservative views and was a Republican. He was born in Toledo, Ohio.

Joe the Plumber speaking

Joe the Plumber with John McCain

He became well-known during the United States presidential election, 2008 when he asked Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in Ohio about his ideas about taxation of small business. Obama reacted by saying that wealth should be spread among the people, which answer the Republicans categorized as being socialist.

Wurzelbacher was intending to start a plumbing business and therefore got the nickname "Joe the Plumber". He became a middle class stereotype in the campaign of the Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

"Joe the Plumber" became a hit in the 2008 presidential elections, often referred to both by McCain and Obama, and being interviewed about all sorts of topics.

In 2012 he tried in vain to be chosen in the United States House of Representatives on behalf of the Ohio's 9th congressional district. Two years after that, he started working in a Jeep factory.

Wurzelbacher voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.[1]

In July 2023, Wurzelbacher announced he had pancreatic cancer.[2] He died on August 27, 2023 from the disease at his home in Campbellsport, Wisconsin, aged 49.[3]