At an airport news conference after the three-hour flight from Kansas City, Mo., Mr. Reagan was asked about establishment of a third party if Mr. Ford was defeated in November.

"If there is such a loss, I think the Republican Party and many of us are going to have to take a look because there is a great majority throughout this country, I think, with a philosophy that is contrary to the Demcratic philosophy and the Democratic platform."

With his wife Nancy at his side and his escort of Secret Service agents around him, the former California Governor said the Republican Party now had a membership of only 18 percent of the people willing to identify themselves with a political party.

He said that if Mr. Ford lost, "There would have to be a reassessment of where we go and how we put that great new majority together."

Source: United Press International, Reagan Hints New Party If Carter Wins Election. New York Times. August 21, 1976.