Horton's tenure as governor was marred by a scandal after the Stock Market crash in 1929. The related collapse of the financial empires of his political allies, Luke Lea and Rogers Caldwell, cost the state more than $6 million (the equivalent of over $86 million in 2017) in funds deposited in their banks by Horton's administration. The legislature voted to impeach the governor, but the measure did not carry and he served out his term. He retired from politics and returned to his farm in Marshall County.