Arkansas with a rural economy based primarily on cotton, was hard-hit in the Great Depression in the United States. Severe droughts in the 1930s and the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 greatly worsened the pain caused by low commodity prices in the early 1920s. Arkansans sought reforms during the era, electing Harvey Parnell governor in 1928, a progressive campaigning on education, highways, and tax reform. Implementation of reforms was limited by a struggling farm economy, natural disasters, and a strong tradition of low taxes. By the 1932 elections, the situation had devolved beyond the capacity of state assistance. Arkansans supported Franklin Roosevelt in huge numbers, while also electing the conservative Democrat J. M. Futrell on a retrenchment platform.