A leading gun rights advocate announced it endorsed the Ohio man who became known as “Joe the Plumber” in his race to represent Ohio’s 9th Congressional District in Washington.

“I’m excited and at the same time, incredibly humbled by the announcement we have received an enthusiastic and strong endorsement of the Gun Owners of America,” said Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, who earned the moniker in 2008 when he confronted then-candidate Barack Obama about how Obama’s tax policies would discourage him from buying a plumbing business.

“As an avid sportsman and gun owner, I can tell you with great pride that no one in Congress will defend the Right to Bear Arms more passionately than I will,” said Wurzelbacher, who is running against Rep. Marcia C. Kaptur (D.-Ohio), a 14-term incumbent.

“The Gun Owners of America said of my opponent, ‘Kaptur has been an enemy of gun owners for nearly three decades.  It’s time to throw her out!’” he said.

“I am thrilled to have the support of the Gun Owners of America, and I look forward to working with them in the United States Congress,” said Wurzelbacher, who was a plumber in the Air Force, before becoming an information technology specialist. After his divorce, he returned to plumbing because he had custody of his son and needed to work closer to home.

“But if we lose this race, we could face the unthinkable prospect of extremist liberals like Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Harry Reid and Marcy Kaptur grabbing your right to defend your property, your home and your family,” he said.

“After all, why should they worry – they have armed security – but remember, you still have your vote and your voice,” he said.

“This is my promise to you in front of God and country – I will fight any Administration, along with any of their allies in Congress, in trying to disarm the law-abiding citizens of this great nation,” he said.

When the government is not trying to take away guns from Americans, they are helping Mexican criminals get guns, he said.

“Look no further than the disgraceful ‘Fast & Furious’ program, which not only put automatic weapons into the hands of Mexican drug cartels which resulted in the murder of Border Agent Brian Terry, but as details slowly emerge, we may find that ‘Fast & Furious’ was in fact, an elaborate government scheme to crack down on gun ownership in this country,” he said.

“Sounds like a bad movie plot, but it’s not. It’s real,” he said.

“When politicians make comments like: ‘They’re clinging to their guns,’ they expose the far-left’s true agenda: getting rid of your constitutional right to bear arms,” he said.

“Help me fight to keep the most critical part of our founding document safe from these extremists and anyone else attempting to infringe upon it,” he said.

“I’m running against lifelong politician Marcy Kaptur, who for nearly 30 years, has been in the House of Representatives with a reliable vote for this liberal agenda,” he said.

“For far too long, Representative Kaptur has been out of touch with her constituents on Second Amendment issues,” he said.