The man who had become a household name during the 2008 presidential campaign has died.
Samuel “Joe” Wurzelbacher, who was better known as “Joe the Plumber,” was 49.
Wurzelbacher’s death was confirmed by his son, who said that his father died in Wisconsin on Sunday after a long illness. Earlier this year his family said he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, The Associated Press reported.
“Joe the Plumber” became nationally known when he questioned then-candidate Barack Obama about his economic policies during the 2008 presidential campaign. Specifically, he had asked Obama about his tax plan during a campaign stop with Obama, saying he wanted to “spread the wealth around.”
FILE PHOTO: Democratic presidential nominee U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) shakes hands with Samuel "Joe" Wurzelbacher a plumber by trade as he canvasses a neighborhood October 12, 2008 in Holland, Ohio. During the a presidential debate between Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama,(D-IL) and Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain,(R-AZ) at Hofstra University the candidates referred to him as "Joe the plumber" and debated his fear that Obama if elected will raise his taxes. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Obama’s Republican opponent, U.S. Sen. John McCain, alluded to “Joe the Plumber” during a presidential debate, the AP reported.
Wurzelbacher became the “everyman” of the Republican party, NBC News reported.
“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,” his wife, Katie, said in a statement, according to NBC News.
Wurzelbacher hit the campaign trail with McCain, but later said he did not want McCain as the Republican nominee, the AP reported.
In 2010 he said that McCain “screwed up” his life by using him during the senator’s campaign, NBC News.
He found his niche by becoming the “voice for many anti-establishment conservatives” and traveled around the nation speaking at tea party rallies. But he said he didn’t like the name recognition that he experienced after the 2008 campaign, NBC News reported.
“McCain was trying to use me,” Wurzelbacher had said, according to NBC News. “I happened to be the face of middle Americans. It was a ploy.”
Wurzelbacher threw his hat into the political ring with his failed candidacy for a House seat in 2012, losing in a landslide to Democrat Marcy Kaptur.
As he tried to court voters in the heavily Democratic district, his name recognition wasn’t enough to offset his statements in favor of the U.S. building a fence at the border with Mexico and to “start shooting” immigrants who were suspected of entering the country illegally, the AP reported.
After his time in the political spotlight, Wurzelbacher returned to his plumbing roots.
He leaves behind his wife and four children.
