1976, Part 15: The Last Great National Convention with U.S. Senator Mack Mattingly

The 1976 Republican National Convention is widely considered the last consequential national political convention in American history — a convention where the outcome was genuinely in doubt and delegates still had a meaningful role in choosing the party's presidential nominee.

In this episode of The Georgia Politics Podcast, we revisit that dramatic convention with former U.S. Senator Mack Mattingly, who was there as a delegate. Mattingly offers a firsthand account of the battle between President Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan, the intense atmosphere inside the convention hall and what it was like to take part in a convention that truly mattered.

As part of our 1976 series, we explore the people, politics and pivotal moments that made the 1976 GOP convention a turning point — and why conventions like it may never happen again.

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