Cleveland Plain Dealer...
‘Joe the Plumber’ takes 1st step toward Ohio congressional run
By Sabrina Eaton  
October  12, 2011 

Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, known as “Joe the Plumber” since John McCain turned him into a working class symbol during the 2008 presidential election, has filed Federal Election Commission paperwork to run for Congress. 

Documents filed on Oct. 6 indicate Wurzelbacher is weighing a GOP congressional run in Ohio’s newly constituted 9th district. 

That district, which stretches from Toledo to Cleveland’s West Side, is already contested by two incumbent Democrats: Cleveland’s Dennis Kucinich and Toledo’s Marcy Kaptur. 

Wurzelbacher says he is gauging public interest in his candidacy and plans to announce a decision on Oct. 25. 

“One of the big reasons, if I do it, is to show the citizens of Ohio that someone can run and serve and maintain their integrity and principles,” says Wurzelbacher. “People need to see there are people who can do that sort of thing and not promote their party over America. I see that over both sides of the fence all day long. The people that suffer are the American people.” 

Wurzelbacher’s home in Holland, Ohio is not located in the district he’d seek. State law requires congressional candidates to live in Ohio, but not in their own district. 

Wurzelbacher says he was “thinking and praying” about running against Kaptur before the redistricting lines were announced, and “the reasons haven’t changed as to why I might decide to run.” His home was drawn into the district now served by GOP Rep. Bob Latta of Bowling Green. 

“I would say that in a Republican Party that takes Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann seriously, there is certainly room for Joe the Plumber,” said Kaptur spokesman Steve Fought. 

Cuyahoga County Republican Party Chairman Rob Frost of Lakewood - which is part of the new district - has also said he wants the job. 

Frost said the fact that several viable Republican candidates want to run in that district shoots down the idea that Ohio’s new congressional maps have no potentially competitive seats. 

“I have talked to Sam, and I think he and I see eye to eye on a lot of things,” said Frost. “Namely, that we need new representation in Northeast Ohio. I don’t view this filing as a negative. I think it just reinforces the point.” 

Wurzelbacher drew notice from McCain after television cameras recorded him asking Barack Obama a question about small business tax policy when Obama, then a candidate, was campaigning in the Toledo area. 

Since then, he’s made campaign appearances with a series of Republican candidates, published a book about his experiences, and worked as a reporter for a website. He still works as a plumber and serves as a vice-president of a group called Alaska’s Healing Hearts, which takes wounded veterans to hunt, camp, and fish in Alaska. 

Wurzelbacher has been cited as a potential GOP congressional candidate against Kaptur since he first gained public attention. In a 2009 interview, he dismissed such talk. 

“Even when Marcy’s dead, she’s going to get elected,” he said at the time. 

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