Kathleen Gray

Detroit Free Press Lansing Bureau

He may have made some gaffes this election cycle, but Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson said Friday that at least he has the integrity that the major party candidates lack.

“The preponderance of horribleness is on the Trump side, but on the Hillary side is all this conjecture about the e-mails,” Johnson told reporters before a rally at Cobo Center in Detroit. “I think Trump is toast, but with this revelation Hillary is toast too. So where do you go? I’m the guy you can go to.”

With Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton scoring high unfavorable numbers in all the polls leading up to the Nov. 8 election, Johnson said he still only has a one in 20 chance of winning the presidency, “Although I think there was an uptick today.”

The revelation on Friday, just 11 days before the Nov. 8 election, that the FBI would be looking at more e-mails connected to a previously closed inquiry into Clinton’s handling of classified information makes Johnson believe that he might just have a chance.

► Related: New e-mails under review in Clinton case emerged from Weiner investigation

“You elect Trump or Clinton and things are going to be more polarized than ever. I’d like to think of myself as the principled alternative,” Johnson said. “And knowing there won’t be resolution to this (e-mail investigation) prior to the election, if Hillary gets elected, she’s going to be a president under investigation by the FBI."

An exclusive poll done last weekend for the Free Press, WXYZ-TV (Channel 7) and their outstate partners by EPIC-MRA of Lansing showed Clinton, the former secretary of state, leading Trump, a Republican businessman, casino developer and reality TV star, 41%-34% in a four-way race that also includes Johnson, who got 9% and Green Party nominee Jill Stein, who had 3%.

► Related: Donald Trump narrows Hillary Clinton's lead to 7 in Michigan

Johnson, who has been siphoning votes from both Trump and Clinton, was hurt recently when he couldn’t answer a question about the Syrian city of Aleppo, asking “what’s Aleppo,” and couldn’t come up with the name of a foreign leader that he admired.

“Gaffes are one thing, and integrity is another thing. I have led my life telling the truth and keeping my word, and I’m not a hypocrite saying one thing and doing another,” Johnson said, adding those moments shouldn’t disqualify him as a competent candidate for president of the United States. “I’m the two-term governor of New Mexico, a state that was 2-1 Democrat.”

Johnson spoke to a couple hundred people in Detroit telling the crowd, "First they ignore you and then they attack you and then they make fun of you and then you win.”

Dave Cruickshank, who’s running for president of the Village of Holly, said it’s about time to think about something other than the two-party system.

“In 2012, I cast my ballot for someone who wasn’t part of the two-party system and I was hassled and yelled at for throwing my vote away. But my soul felt clean,” he said. “It is our job to remind people that there is another choice. We have a choice of saying no more to the two-party system.

On other issues, Johnson said he didn’t support the federal bailout of the auto industry and would have let General Motors and Chrysler go through bankruptcy. He also doesn’t support the increased gas mileage standards that are being mandated by the federal government. He also said he believes in term limits for members of Congress.

One of his biggest applause lines, though, was his call for the legalization of marijuana. "Let's end the war on drugs," he said.

Contact Kathleen Gray: kgray99@freepress.com or on Twitter @michpoligal.