Perry Johnson projects confidence at the Iowa State Fair about making the first GOP debate

Perry Johnson is confident he'll make the stage for the first Republican presidential debate.

Eight Republican candidates for president have qualified for the Republican National Committee's Aug. 23 debate in Milwaukee, according to the Associated Press.

Johnson, a Michigan businessman running on his "2 Cents to Save America" platform, was not on the AP's list, but he told a state fair crowd — and a Des Moines Register reporter — he's confident he'll make it.

Candidates need to reach at least 40,000 donors, with at least 200 donors in 20 or more states, and at least 1% support in three high-quality national polls or a combination of national and early-voting state polls.

"The bottom line is, I will be on that stage," Johnson said at the Register's Political Soapbox. His campaign has already announced that Johnson has cracked the donor minimum, and Johnson said Friday he'll make it through on the polls, too, and plans to start debate prep with his team.

So far, he hasn't received enough support to register on a rolling average of national polls, according to the polling analysis website, FiveThirtyEight.

More: Des Moines Register Political Soapbox to bring 13 presidential hopefuls to the Iowa State Fair

Johnson, an auto industry heavyweight who has never held elected office, pitched an audience of a few dozen people on his plan to slash the national debt by freezing the federal budget and cutting 2 cents off every dollar of discretionary spending.

"I'm going to ask you, do you think the federal government has quality and efficiency?" Johnson asked, as the crowd shouted "No!"

Johnson has told Iowans about his childhood in Dolton, Illinois, a working-class town south of Chicago, and growing up poor before putting himself through college by working at a steel mill, later rising in the auto and certification industry, and becoming an entrepreneur who has literally written the book on quality control.

He said he wants to restore the American dream, which he said he represents, while portraying himself as a businessman without baggage.

"They loved this country," Johnson said. "They taught me from the beginning of time that the greatest gift you can be given is to be born an American. And boy, I believed that."

During his Register Soapbox speech, Johnson pledged to shut down the federal Department of Education and cut off funding to Ukraine as the Russian invasion continues.

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Turning to Iowa, he said there need to be limits on Chinese companies' ability to buy land in the state, and the country, and there should be a boost in ethanol production.

"Why shouldn't we be producing as much ethanol as possible?" Johnson said.

Debate will be a chance to see an alternative to Trump, Perry Johnson says

Responding to the news of Attorney General Merrick Garland appointing a special counsel in the ongoing Hunter Biden investigation, Johnson told reporters in a gaggle after his speech that he sees bias in the Hunter investigation, while he believes former President Donald Trump should be pardoned to improve voter confidence in the coming election.

"I'm running against Trump, so it's not like I have anything to gain," Johnson said.

Johnson said the first debate is when the race really starts and when voters can really get a sense of who the Republican nominee might be.

"I, for one, was absolutely certain that Jeb Bush was going to be the nominee in 2015," Johnson told reporters of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who famously ran for the 2016 Republican nomination, only to lose to Trump. "There was no question in my mind. He had a brother who was president and a father who was president. He had $104 million in the coffers. He had an infrastructure that was unequaled. And he had all the political connections."

Yet, Johnson said, voters knew it was over after one debate. While Johnson expects to be on the Milwaukee stage later this month, he does not anticipate Trump will join him.

"I think that gives us an opportunity," he said. "Now you have an opportunity to see all these people who aren't Trump."

Perry Johnson spends time at the fair ahead of his country concert

Johnson made an appearance at the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 10, the first day of the fair, including touring a sheep barn with Rep. Zach Nunn and touring booths.

The next day, Johnson walked through the crowd after his Soapbox speech, as several fair-goers stopped him for photos, on the way to the agriculture building to catch a glimpse of the butter cow and the butter Caitlin Clark.

Johnson is touring the fair ahead of his "Restore the American Dream" rally, a concert with country duo Big & Rich, on Aug. 12 in Des Moines.

Chris Higgins covers the eastern suburbs for the Register. Reach him at chiggins@registermedia.com or 515-423-5146 and follow him on Twitter @chris_higgins.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Perry Johnson touts economic plan at state fair Register Soapbox