WASHINGTON, D.C. -- GOP congressional candidate Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher of Holland, aka "Joe the Plumber," has flushed out the Cuyahoga County Republican Party endorsment in his primary battle against Huron auctioneer Steven Kraus.

"I am thrilled to have such strong support from the Cuyahoga GOP," Wurzelbacher gushed in a press release. "Unlike the Democrats, our party will be leaving the primary united and prepared to win in November."



The winner of their contest will face whomever gets the Democratic nod in the newly reconfigured district that stretches along Lake Erie between Cleveland and Toledo. Incumbent Democrats Marcy Kaptur of Toledo and Dennis Kucinich of Cleveland are seeking that nomination, along with first-time candidate Graham Veysey of Cleveland.

Kraus reports that he and Wurzelbacher were both endorsed by the Ohio Right to Life Society's political action committee, and the pair have been interviewed by several newspapers with race endorsements in the pipeline.

Wurzelbacher was nicknamed "Joe the Plumber" after he asked future president Barack Obama a televised question about tax policy during the 2008 presidential campaign. He later made campaign appearances on behalf of John McCain and other GOP candidates.

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