A US presidential candidate going by the name of “Deez Nuts” has become the most successful independent in two decades.
An apparent reference to a Dr Dre track of the same name, Deez Nuts was reported by CBS News to be among more than 500 lesser-known figures to have entered the presidential race.
Records on the website of the Federal Election Commission confirm that a statement of candidacy has been filed under that name – but Deez Nuts only came to prominence when he featured in a survey by Public Policy Polling.
In North Carolina, the polling company asked people about a possible three-way race between Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and Deez Nuts. The vote was split 40 per cent/38 per cent /9 per cent, respectively.
While there are apparently dozens of genuine die-hard Dr Dre fans across the US who have changed their name legally to Deez Nuts, no one of that name matched the address listed for the presidential candidate.
Questions from PPP's North Carolina survey
Daily Beast tracked down a 15-year-old named Brady Olson who did. The son of a farmer in Iowa, he told the website that he filed to run after hearing about the story of Limberbutt McCubbins, a cat who was entered by his owner for the Democrat candidacy.
He said: “The next step is to get some party nominations, like the Minnesota Independence Party or the Modern Whig Party. It would also be great to find a VP, preferably McCubbins because the Nuts/McCubbins ticket sounds amazing.”
Sadly, there are a number of reasons why the Nuts campaign is unlikely to go much further.
For a start, even under an assumed name a candidate has to be at least 35 years old to become President of the United States.
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
Secondly, there hasn’t been a completely independent president since the first, George Washington (though it’s a topic that’s up for debate).
Finally, Public Policy Polling has admitted that it included Deez Nuts in its testing “for the sake of entertainment” only.
In addition to his 9 per cent in North Carolina, he received 8 per cent of support in Minnesota and 7 per cent in his home state, Iowa. Presidential prowess? Republican candidates in televised debate
Writing about the Minnesota results, PPP noted: “Deez Nuts haven't had much exposure to the American public – 89 per cent say they have no opinion about them either way.
“When you look at how supporters of Deez Nuts split in a head to head between Clinton and Trump, 25 per cent are for Clinton, 15 per cent are for Trump, and 60 per cent are undecided. So Deez Nuts are largely providing an outlet for voters to express their frustration with the other candidates.”
Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg
The song Deeez Nuts, featuring Snoop Dogg, Dat N***a Daz, Warren G and Nate Dogg, appeared on Dr Dre's seminal 1992 album The Chronic.
Inspired by a skit at the beginning of the track, the phrase "deez nuts" went on to become the punchline to a popular formulaic joke used to taunt someone.
The phrase grew in prominence after video of a man using it in one such prank went viral, being viewed millions of times.
