Supporters who picked up the Deez Nuts meme tweeted to Public Policy Polling, a nonscientific polling operation, asking it to add him to its surveys, and it did. In head-to-head matchups with Donald J. Trump and Hillary Rodham Clinton, Deez Nuts drew 8 percent in Minnesota and 7 percent in Iowa.
Tom Jensen, the director of Public Policy Polling, said he added Deez Nuts to statewide survey three weeks ago because “the name makes people laugh, and it’s a long presidential election.’’
But Mr. Jensen also drew a serious conclusion from the Deez Nuts surge.
“I would say Mr. Nuts is the most ludicrous and unqualified third-party candidate you could have, but he’s still polling at 7, 8, 9 percent,’’ Mr. Jensen said. “Right now the voters don’t like either of the people leading in the two main parties, and that creates an appetite for a third-party candidate.’’
After the North Carolina results, which were picked up by television news broadcast, Mr. Jensen thought the joke had run its course. But now that Deez Nuts is receiving a wave of publicity, the pollster is curious to see if the Deez Nuts candidacy can be lifted higher. Mr. Jensen plans to include the independent in polls in New Hampshire this weekend and in a national survey next week.