'Deez Nuts' Isn't The Only Fictional Candidate Running for President

image
Author: James Ryan
Published: 20 Aug, 2015
Updated: 21 Nov, 2022
1 min read

WASHINGTON -- With the crowded presidential field, which features 22 Democratic and Republican candidates, not a great deal of attention has been paid to the 585 individuals officially registered on the FEC website as 2016 hopefuls.

Among them is "Deez Nuts," who, according to the campaign's FEC form, lives in Iowa and is running as an independent. According to Public Policy Polling, Nuts is putting up decent numbers in North Carolina and Minnesota.

COURTESY OF THE FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION

The number of presidential candidates -- real or fictitious -- is the result of the relatively simple process of declaring one's candidacy for the office. All that is required is filling out FEC Form 2, the official Statement of Candidacy. The form is one page long and requires basic information, like name and address, and a place to register an official campaign committee.

The FEC does not screen the forms or verify any candidate's identity, and treats each submitted form equally. So long as the information is completed and submitted by mail or online, the forms are placed on the FEC's candidate website.

The race also features at least one cat, named "Limberbutt McCubbins," who was the 192nd entrant filed. McCubbins was registered by Isaac Weiss of Louisville, Ky., and is a declared "Demo-cat" and carries the slogan, "Together, we cat."

Weiss, who serves as McCubbins' campaign manager, says that McCubbins believes in environmental preservation and the legalization of catnip. McCubbins would also have opposed the invasion of Iraq because the "climate is not favorable for a house cat."

While anyone can submit the form, the FEC does not officially consider someone a candidate until he or she raises or spends at least $5,000.

Honorable mentions for the 585 candidates also include Sydneys Voluptuous Buttocks of New York and Mr. Crawfish B. Crawfish of Louisiana.

Latest articles

Crowd in Time Square.
NYC Exit Survey: 96% of Voters Understood Their Ranked Choice Ballots
An exit poll conducted by SurveyUSA on behalf of the nonprofit better elections group FairVote finds that ranked choice voting (RCV) continues to be supported by a vast majority of voters who find it simple, fair, and easy to use. The findings come in the wake of the city’s third use of RCV in its June 2025 primary elections....
01 Jul, 2025
-
6 min read
A man filling out his election ballot.
Oregon Activist Sues over Closed Primaries: 'I Shouldn't Have to Join a Party to Have a Voice'
A new lawsuit filed in Oregon challenges the constitutionality of the state’s closed primary system, which denies the state’s largest registered voting bloc – independent voters – access to taxpayer-funded primary elections. The suit alleges Oregon is denying the voters equal voting rights...
01 Jul, 2025
-
3 min read
Supreme Court building.
Supreme Court Sides with Federal Corrections Officers in Lawsuit Over Prison Incident
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 30 that federal prison officers and officials cannot be sued by an inmate who accused them of excessive force during a 2021 incident, delivering a victory for federal corrections personnel concerned about rising legal exposure for doing their jobs....
01 Jul, 2025
-
3 min read