(GoRealNewsNow.com) – “Joe the Plumber,” a hardworking, ordinary American man who gained national fame by confronting Barack Obama during Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, passed away at 49.
Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, widely known as a symbol of “the average Joe,” who later became a Republican political candidate, perished of rapidly spreading pancreatic cancer, his wife Katie Wurzelbacher told Fox News.
“Our hearts are broken. We lost a beloved husband, father, son, brother and friend. He made an impact on so many lives,” his widow wrote in a statement cited by The New York Post.
“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,” Katie Wurzelbacher added.
She and her late husband married in 2011 and have three children. The family’s GiveSendGo campaign page informs he was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer earlier this year after suffering from severe stomach pains over Christmas.
“He was a good man and an exceptional friend. Please consider helping his widow and young children,” announced Townhall columnist Derek Hunter
During a campaign event in Toledo, Ohio, Joe the Plumber challenged Obama’s tax plan, saying it would hurt the American Dream of small business owners like himself.
“I’m getting ready to buy a company that makes 250 to 280 thousand dollars a year. Your new tax plan’s going to tax me more, isn’t it?” Joe asked famously.
According to The Post, the “Joe the Plumber” nickname was invented by John McCain’s presidential campaign, which invited Wurzelbacher as a speaker multiple times.
He was mentioned over a dozen times during the McCain-Obama presidential debate on October 15, 2008.
Wurzelbacher later became an author and a motivational speaker. In 2012, he unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Democrat US Rep. Marcy Kaptur for Ohio’s 9th congressional seat.
In 2016, Joe the Plumber endorsed Donald Trump for the presidency, Breitbart News points out.
“I don’t know if we’ve passed it, but I know this: I support Donald Trump to try and restore us first to sanity, then back to greatness. If you don’t believe the Constitution and our very way of life hang in the balance in this election, then you’d better start paying attention,” he wrote in a Breitbart op-ed.