Samuel “Joe the Plumber” Wurzelbacker isn’t working on pipes these days. But he is working his way up in the political scene.

The 38-year-old former plumber defeated Steve Kraus, a Sandusky real estate agent, Wednesday to grab the Republican nomination in Ohio’s 9th Congressional District.

Joe the Plumber first got his first taste of politics when he asked then-Democratic candidate Barack Obama about his small business tax policy. Obama responded, “When you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody.”

Wurzelbacher’s fame grew soon after and he followed Sarah Palin on the campaign trail after she made the Toledo native the front man for the working-class.

He now faces Democratic Primary winner U.S. Rep. Macy Kaptur, who has served the congressional district since 1983.

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