Smith was the first Catholic to run for President, and attracted many thousands of ethnic voters. However he was especially unpopular among Southern Baptists and German Lutherans, who feared the pope would dictate his policies. It was a time of national prosperity, and Smith lost in a landslide to Republican Herbert Hoover. Smith tried for the 1932 nomination, but was defeated by his former ally Franklin D. Roosevelt. Smith entered business in New York City, and became an increasingly vocal opponent of Roosevelt's New Deal.