PHILADELPHIA--Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson says the Democratic and Republican nominees are out of synch with the country, and he expresses more confidence than ever that his campaign will reap a harvest of support this fall in his bid for the White House.

Johnson told me in a telephone interview Friday that neither Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton nor Republican nominee Donald Trump has connected with everyday Americans, and this creates a big opening for him.

Clinton, who formally accepted the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday night, offered the "same old stuff," seemingly endless government programs and promises, Johnson said, that he estimates would increase the national debt to $40 trillion. The debt is now estimated at $19 trillion. Johnson said Clinton is "in la-la land," and the Democrats are still the party of the "status quo," and he argued that voters want something new. He argued that he would bring a refreshing change as a Washington outsider.

Johnson is fiscally conservative, socially liberal in a live-and-let-live mold, and non-interventionist in foreign policy.

As for Trump, who was nominated by the Republicans last week, Johnson said the billionaire real-estate developer has an excessively negative, pessimistic outlook that isn't what most Americans want. "He's living in a country I'm not living in," the Libertarian nominee said.

There are some positive signs for Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico, and his vice presidential running mate Bill Weld, the former Republican governor of Massachusetts. Johnson is drawing about 9 percent in national polls when his name is included in surveys. He appears to be attracting support from both Clinton and Trump in about equal measures. One of his major goals is to push his support above 15 percent, which would earn him a place in the presidential debates this fall.