Joe the Plumber to become Joe the Congressman?

By Douglas V. Gibbs

I had the tremendous opportunity to spend some time with a few of the folks that were a part of the Tea Party Express in Searchlight Nevada last year. One of those folks was Joe the Plumber. Samuel "Joe" Wurzelbacher was friendly, articulate, and the best of the speakers at that event (yes, in my mind, even surpassing Sarah Palin).

We had a chance to speak, but I never asked him if he was planning on running for office. Well, now we know. Joe the Plumber has decided to run for Congress.

Joe became a household name when he challenged Obama on taxes, and Obama revealed that he planned to redistribute the wealth (a socialist term for economic equity by force).

Now, Joe has been spending some time in his hometown in Ohio, and has decided to plunge headfirst into politics.

Joe the Plumber has filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Elections Commission saying that he will be running as a Republican in Ohio's 9th U.S. House district.

The seat is now held by Marcy Kaptur, the longest serving Democratic woman in the House.

His district was redrawn this year and stretches from Toledo to Cleveland, making it heavily tilted toward Democrats. Republicans said this summer that they were recruiting Wurzelbacher to make a run, thinking he could raise enough money to mount a serious challenge.

It will be an interesting race, and I look forward to yet another person that is not a professional politician getting into office.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Ohio's Joe The Plumber Plans To Run For Office - MSNBC