Just when you think the US presidential campaign couldn't get any weirder, a candidate named Deez Nuts appears out of nowhere.
The Independent applicant polled at 9% in Northern Carolina on Wednesday, coming up against Hillary Clinton (38%) and Donald Trump (40%).
But it turns out the presidential wannabe is actually 15-year-old high school student, Brady Olson from Iowa.
In an email interview with the Guardian, Olson said: “My name is not Deez Nuts. I am a 15-year-old who filled out a form, had the campaign catch on fire, and am now putting up the best third-party numbers since Ross Perot.
“I never thought it would go this far and now it has. It’s amazing how this campaign caught on. Right now it’s mainly just the name recognition, but hopefully as we go down the stretch people will actually take the time to look at my campaign website and look at my platform."
Olson said that his friends and family think his campaign is "hilarious", but the teen is taking his success seriously.
On his website, 'Deez Nuts For President 2016', his manifesto lists his key areas of concern as illegal immigration, government spending, foreign policy and same-sex marriage.
As it stands, anyone can file the initial form to run for president, and there are no independent checks to verify the authenticity of candidates.
If the form is correctly filled out, the Federal Election Commission allow the entry. The only prerequisite is that the candidate must have raised or spent $5,000.
There are currently 585 registered candidates for 2016, including President Emperor Caesar, Buddy The Cat, Sydney's Voluptuous Buttocks, Crawfish Crawfish and Buddy The Elf, but none have received the same level of support as Deez Nuts.