Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson is scheduled to speak at Purdue University Tuesday evening.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WTHR) - Libertarian candidate for president Gary Johnson spoke to voters Tuesday evening on the campus of Purdue University.

Purdue President Mitch Daniels told the crowd of about 1,800 he invited all three presidential candidates to campus. Johnson is the only one who accepted - so far.

Venue seats ~1800. About 1/3 full. Mitch Daniels will lead convo w/Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson. pic.twitter.com/Tb3sPHUKiN — Jennie Runevitch (@JennieWTHR) September 13, 2016





"Vote your conscience."

That's what Gary Johnson told the crowd about supporting someone other than Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump.

"This is a two-party system that needs crashing," Johnson said. "A wasted vote is voting for somebody you don't believe in. That's a wasted vote. Does anybody think that anything is going to get any better if Trump or Clinton gets elected? I don't think anybody believes that."

Many who came to hear the Libertarian speak say they are desperate for a different choice for the White House.

"The two major parties cannot field a sane candidate, so I really think the Libertarians have their chance this year," said Tanner Perdew of Lafayette.

"I think this is the year that we actually need someone else out there," added Katherine Broecker of Indianapolis.

Broecker traditionally votes Republican. She says she's never considered voting third party, until now.

"I can't tolerate a Donald Trump. I don't trust anything he says," she said. "Johnson is thoughtful, he's smart, he's a calming influence, a unifier in a way I don't think any of the other candidates are."

Fiscally conservative and socially liberal - that's how the former two-term governor of New Mexico describes his political philosophy.

Daniels, former governor of Indiana, hosted the discussion Tuesday evening. He began with a joke about Johnson's recent foreign policy gaffe.

"Your thoughts on Syria," Daniels asked. "That's where that Aleppo is."

"Ah, Aleppo," Johnson said with a laugh.

But Johnson also talked specifics. He opposes foreign regime change, supports immigration and wants marijuana legalized. He also wants to be able to share his views in a debate with Clinton and Trump.

But to qualify and get on that stage, he says his poll numbers need to be at least 15 percent in five polls. He's currently polling at 11 percent in Indiana.

"The only way to get elected is to be in the presidential debates," Johnson said. "What's there to fear by having my voice on that stage? From a polling standpoint, we do continue to go up in the polls."

"I would love to see him in the debates. He'd draw people in," Broecker said.

He drew a crowd at Purdue and at the end of the evening, drew a compliment from Mitch Daniels.