'Joe The Plumber,' who rose to fame after confronting Barack Obama on 2008 campaign trail, dead at 49 | Fox News
By: Danielle Wallace (Fox News)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, who became known as "Joe the Plumber" after garnering national media attention for confronting then-presidential candidate Barack Obama on the 2008 campaign trail, died Sunday, his wife, Katie Wurzelbacher, confirmed Monday in an email to Fox News Digital. He was 49.
"Our hearts are broken. We lost a beloved husband, father, son, brother and friend. He made an impact on so many lives," Katie Wurzelbacher wrote in a statement.
"When I met Joe he was already known by everyone else as 'Joe the Plumber' but he wrote something to me that stood out and showed me who he truly was: 'just Joe,'" she said. "He was an average, honorable man trying to do great things for the country he loved so deeply after being thrust into the public eye for asking a question."
Joe Wurzelbacher announced in July that he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of pancreatic cancer.
"My heart goes out to everyone whose lives are impacted by cancer. There are so many ups and downs but we tried to find joy in every day. He fought long and hard, but is now free from pain," Katie Wurzelbacher wrote Monday. "I don't think of him as losing his battle. Because he knew Jesus, his battle was won."
"Joe's last wish was to get us back by my family. The first night here, he gave me a big smile and said 'we made it,'" his wife said. "To everyone who has and continues to support us, and there are so many, Thank You! You helped bring Joe peace and for that I will always be grateful."
Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain shakes hands with the man known as "Joe the Plumber" at Lorain County Community College in Elyria, Ohio, on Oct. 30, 2008.(Robyn Beck / AFP via Getty Images)
A fundraiser set up months ago on the Christian crowdfunding site GiveSendGo to support Wurzelbacher's family amid his battle with cancer raised $135,234 as of Monday.
Joe Wurzelbacher, the owner of a plumbing business at the time, rose to national acclaim when he confronted Obama at a 2008 campaign event in Toledo, Ohio, accusing the Democrat presidential candidate's tax plan of conflicting with the American dream. Obama countered that the plan would help small businesses grow more quickly.
John McCain, the late U.S. senator from Arizona and Republican presidential nominee at the time, referenced "Joe The Plumber" during his run for the White House and eventually had Wurzelbacher join him on the campaign trail.
Wurzelbacher's name was reportedly mentioned more than a dozen times during the Oct. 15, 2008, presidential debate between Obama and McCain. Wurzelbacher went on to run an unsuccessful bid against Democrat Rep. Marcy Kaptur for Ohio's 9th Congressional District seat in 2012. He is survived by his wife and children.
Danielle Wallace is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering politics, crime, police and more. Story tips can be sent to danielle.wallace@fox.com and on Twitter: @danimwallace.
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A poster boy for 15 minutes of fame.
RIP Joe
Thread cleaned up for trolling and taunting.
I grew up one town over from this clown. Man, I do not miss Ohio.
Because he knew Jesus, his battle was won.
I guess winning the battle is a matter of enduring a disease while it kills you, while knowing the invisible almighty power that does nothing to stop it from happening.
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I think pancreatic cancer has got to be one of the worst cancers out there. A lot of people are at Stage 4 before they are diagnosed.
I didn't care for Joe the plumber but that was a long time ago. RIP Joe
I have to agree with you. I personally saw the suffering my MIL went through with that disease. It was just awful.
RIP Joe.
In my book it just makes the nonexistence of gods that much more obvious. I wouldn’t wish cancer or any other terminal disease on anyone, but I, nor anyone else, is in control of that.
Once we are gone, the only thing that remains to keep us alive in memories are the things that we said and did when we were alive. My memories of him come from the words he chose to be remembered by.
And you have every right to your opinions and feelings about the man. I've known some people that I didn't like and they passed away. Still won't get me to say one good word about them.
As average guy who was attacked mercilessly by the media for presuming to ask the protected type of politician a question.
Oh yeah, just an average bigot.
In a 2009 interview with the publication Christianity Today, he remarked that he “had some friends that are actually homosexual” and that “they know that I wouldn’t have them anywhere near my children.”
Try visiting Youngstown, OH - home of the biggest shuttered automotive factory I’ve ever seen. Ohio and Michigan had way too many eggs in the automotive basket. Offshoring this labor kicked off the subprime mortgage crisis, since factory workers were simultaneously facing joblessness and ballooning ARMs for houses and vehicles they had no business considering in the first place. Now that town has a long line of fentanyl adicts waiting to get into the morgue.
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Its Fox News. Maybe they had something against him because he was fairly normal.
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There has been one anti-Joe The Plumber comment and 11 complaining about how the seed is abusing Joe.
Crazy.
LOCKED
The rw cant control themselves.
The article is reopened and has been cleaned up. I am giving out one warning about this. Drinker and Greg, you better stop gang-banging articles, or there will be severe penalties.
This is why we can't have anything nice around here
Karma
Well, that sucks. I don’t care about the man or his politics, but that is a frustrating and evil disease. You can do everything right in your life, and it will still sneak up and murder you.