ST. PAUL, Minn. (KMSP) -

Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party candidate for president, is speaking Friday at Macalester College. The former two-term New Mexico governor is in St. Paul as part of a nationwide college tour to rally young voters.

The appearance is welcome one for voters who hope the electorate looks beyond the two-party system.

"They always say if you vote for a third party you waste your vote," former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura said on FOX 9 in July. "I've got news for you if you vote for a Democrat or Republican you waste your vote."

Johnson, 59, left the Republican Party at the end of 2011, after making a run for the GOP nomination, but getting shut-out of some debates.

Johnson's platform includes Republican-aligned support for lower taxes and spending cuts, but independent support for gay marriage, legalizing marijuana and drastically cutting the U.S. military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Johnson will appear on the presidential ballot in all 50 states, but faces legal challenges in several states.

Johnson carried the support of four percent of registered voters in a recent CNN poll -- one of only a few that have included the Libertarian candidate.

Read the rest here:

Libertarian presidential candidate at Macalester College