Kathie Obradovich

kobradov@dmreg.com

A crowd of about 400 chanted: "Let Gary debate! Let Gary debate!"

They were gathered at Grand View University in Des Moines to hear former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, Libertarian Party candidate for president.

Johnson said Saturday in an interview he belongs on the national debate stage because he already represents 13 million voters.

Johnson figures his impact in the race based on his support in national polls. He says his 10 percent in the polls represents about 13 million voters.

“You’ve probably done the math on being at 10 percent in the polls. Ten percent in the polls is 13 million people. So that’s a lot of people,” Johnson said.

Johnson was making his first trip to Iowa of the 2016 campaign since being nominated by the Libertarian Party. The first presidential debate is Sept. 26 and to be included, Johnson needs to show up at 15 percent in a specified national poll. Using Johnson’s math, he needs to get another 6.5 million supporters by then.

He says he's making a splash on social media that will help him attract those voters. A recent rally in Milwaukee, in said, which attracted about 1,200 people, had over 300,000 views on Facebook Live within two hours of the event. "And so you're doing a rally in Des Moines, Iowa, but guess what? The whole country is watching those rallies."

He’s indicated that being excluded from the debates would be dire for his campaign.

“By dire consequences, I don’t think there’s any way you can be elected president and not be in the presidential debates,” he said.

Nationally, he has registered anywhere between 4 percent and 12 percent in national polls in the past month, with an average of 7.8 percent, according to Real Clear Politics.

“Our polling is ticking up. It’s ratcheting up. And so if we’re not in the first debate, there’s a good chance we’ll be in the next debate,” he said. “But I’ll just ask you this: When you’re representing 13 million people, how do you discount that? How do you say 13 million people shouldn’t be represented on the stage?”

He said 70 percent of Americans still don’t know who he is, “and that bodes well to actually running the table on this whole thing, believing this will continue to grow.”

Johnson isn’t entirely unknown in Iowa. He campaigned for president as a Republican in the 2012 election and attended some political events in the state. He also rode RAGBRAI.

Johnson said he wants smaller government and lower taxes. But his idea of limiting the power of government includes keeping it out of people’s bedrooms. He supports same-sex marriage and says abortion should be a woman's decision with her doctor. He also supports legalization of marijuana and has confirmed in media interviews that he has used it both medicinally and recreationally, although he gave it up for the campaign. He’s not calling for legalization of heroin but he attributes the trend of opioid abuse to the prohibition on drug use.

Third-party votes aren't 'wasted'

During the rally, he called for eliminating the corporate tax, slashing regulation and moving Medicare and Medicaid back to states. He said he would replace the Affordable Care Act with a free-market approach to health care. He also questioned the need for the departments of education, commerce, housing and urban development and even homeland security. His immigration plan would allow easier access to work visas with a Social Security card to facilitate paying taxes.

He said he hopes libertarians will vote for him, but he’s also working to attract independents.

“Fifty percent of everyone going to register to vote right now is independent. And independent means, look, I’m going to look at the candidate. I don’t care about the parties,” he said. “… That’s where the opportunity exists to run the table.”

He would up his half-hour speech with a response to those who say voting for a third-party candidate is a waste.

"Wasting your vote is voting for somebody you don’t believe in," Johnson said. "That’s wasting your vote."