After four months of consideration , Mathias decided in March 1976 to not seek the presidency , and asked for his name to be withdrawn from the Massachusetts primary ballot , where it had been added automatically . He had also been considering an independent bid , but said raising money would be too difficult under campaign finance laws . Upon his withdrawal , Mathias stated he would work with the Republican Party in the upcoming elections . However , despite his pledge to support the Republican candidate , Mathias ' criticism of the party did not wane , stating that " over and over again during the primaries , I have felt uncomfortably like a member of the chorus in a Greek tragedy " . In a further criticism of his party 's neglect of liberal voters , Mathias commented : I 've had to deal with some hard truths ... People do n't like to hear we 've got only 18 percent of the electorate . They pretend it 's not important that our following among blacks , and young people , and urban communities is not what it should be ... But I feel it 's of the greatest importance that if there 's to be a Republican Party , we look these facts in the face . Mathias ' candidacy consideration did not endear him to the conservative wing of the Maryland Republican Party organization . In June 1976 , he lost a vote by state Republicans to determine who would represent Maryland on the platform committee at the 1976 Republican National Convention . Instead , the group chose George Price , a conservative member of the Maryland House of Delegates from Baltimore County . At one point , Mathias was close to being denied attendance to the convention altogether as an at-large delegate , but a last minute compromise ensured all Republican congressional representatives seats as at-large delegates . Mathias maintained a low profile during the convention , and received harsh criticism from some of the conservative delegates from Maryland who attended
1976 Republican National Convention
1976 Republican National Convention
Charles Mathias