If Donald Trump’s unlikely rise to the top of the polls tells us anything, it’s that Americans (or at least GOP primary voters) are sick of business as usual in Washington.

The endemic corruption, crony capitalism, rampant regulatory capture, and licentious logrolling that many voters have come to associate with the American political process has created a deep-seated desire for change and if there are two names which most certainly do not portend a break from business as usual inside the Beltway they are "Bush" and "Clinton." Indeed, the prospect that America will once again be faced with a choice that really isn’t a choice by being compelled to choose between two candidates from Washington’s political aristocracy has only served to boost Trump’s appeal.

All of the above certainly seems to suggest that America is fully prepared to accept and embrace the candidacy of those who promise anything but the political status quo, which, we imagine helps to explain why the dark horse candidate "Deez Nuts" is now polling at 9% in North Carolina.

Deez Nuts is running for president. This is a true statement. pic.twitter.com/834etY4cMH — Josh Moon (@Josh_Moon) August 19, 2015

From PublicPolicyPolling:

The specter of Trump running as an independent candidate in the general election continues to be a big potential problem for Republicans. In such a scenario Clinton leads with 38% with Bush at 28% and Trump at 27% basically tying for second place. Trump wins independents with 38% (to 28% for Clinton and 24% for Bush), takes 38% of Republicans, and 14% of Democrats. Finally another declared independent candidate, Deez Nuts, polls at 9% in North Carolina to go along with his 8% in Minnesota and 7% in Iowa in our recent polling. 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

As you can see from the following, North Carolina voters aren't yet sure what to expect from Nuts, but 9% of voters know that if forced to choose between Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, and Deez Nuts, they'll take Nuts any day of the week.

Breaking down the polling data, it looks like 9% of voters who chose Mitt Romney in 2012 would go with Deez Nuts in 2016 while an astonishing 25% of voters who voted for someone other than Obama or Romney would prefer Nuts over Clinton or Trump. Most of Nuts' support looks to come from the center of the policitcal spectrum and when broken down by gender, men seem to have a more favorable view of Nuts than women. When it comes to age, voters 18-29 were far more likely to have a favorable view of Nuts although surprisingly, when Nuts is pitted against Trump and Clinton, a shocking 15% of voters 30-45 say they would choose Nuts.

Full breakdown:

Deez Nuts