A poll by a liberal polling company included an independent candidate named “Deez Nuts” alongside Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in a survey of North Carolina voters.
Public Policy Polling (PPP), which is based in the state, found that Deez Nuts “polls at 9% in North Carolina to go along with his 8% in Minnesota and 7% in Iowa in our recent polling.” The “Deez Nuts” campaign is the successful prank of a 15-year-old Iowan, Brady Olson, who filed papers with the Federal Election Commission to run even though he is ineligible, according to the Daily Beast.
“Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Deez Nuts?” PPP asked voters. (In North Carolina, 6% had a favorable view, 13% had an unfavorable view, and 81% were unsure.)
The Daily Beast reports that PPP included Deez Nuts at Olson’s request:
“It started because somebody emailed us under the name Deez Nuts,” says Jim Williams, an issue polling specialist a Public Policy Polling. “He said, ‘I’m Deez Nuts. I’m running. Here’s my filing statement. Would you poll me?’”
Williams thought “this is something Public Policy Polling would do”…
PPP had its employees call 957 respondents to ask their view of “Deez Nuts.” PPP touts its reputation as the most accurate polling firm in the 2012 election, though it performed rather poorly in 2014, when Democrats were surprised by Republicans’ strong showing in Senate races.
In 2012, a PPP poll was critical in convincing Republican Todd Akin to stay in the U.S. Senate race after his comments about “legitimate rape,” for which he later apologized, destroyed his campaign. PPP’s rushed poll showed Akin still leading Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO).
Photo: Screenshot / Youtube / ABC 7
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