Deez Nuts for US president? Oddball campaign polling 9% in North Carolina

US presidential candidate Deez Nuts is gaining ground behind Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton after polling 9% in North Carolina. According to results released Wednesday (19 August) by Public Policy Polling, Deez Nuts also gained 8% in Minnesota and 7% in Iowa where, according to the polls, "Trump leads Clinton 40/38 when he's in the mix".

Finally Deez Nuts get 9% in NC to go with their 8% in Minnesota and 7% in Iowa. Pretty consistent support: http://t.co/EIPkTvW3Ti

— PublicPolicyPolling (@ppppolls) August 19, 2015

In a Federal Election Commission filing signed 26 July, Deez Nuts announced he would seek the US presidency as an independent, declaring he would not spend a single dollar of his own money in the effort.

If the filing is anything to go by, Deez Nuts lives on a sparsely populated county highway in Iowa. However, the Daily Beast has tracked down the young man who originally filed the FEC paperwork: 15-year-old Brady Olson who goes to high school in Graettinger, Iowa.

"The next step is to get some party nominations, like the Minnesota Independence Party or the Modern Whig Party," Olson told the online publication.

Presidential Candidate 'Deez Nutz' Surging in Latest Polls, Highlighting Absurdity of... https://t.co/AlZ11MTTYt pic.twitter.com/hFh2yEG6Vs

— FTSN (@fightingtyranny) August 20, 2015

Jim Williams, an issue-polling specialist a Public Policy Polling, told the publication that he thought it would be "funny" to run the fictional candidate against the frontrunners after Olson approached the pollster via email. The fact that the candidate is even pulling in any numbers at all, Williams said, indicates there's clearly "some kind of floor here for third-party entities that's rising".