Unable to run for re-election in 1938 , Johnston challenged " Cotton Ed " Smith for his seat in the United States Senate . The race brought national interest , as Smith had developed into an opponent of the New Deal and Johnston was a strong supporter . Smith was one of the senators whom President Franklin D. Roosevelt attempted to purge . Ultimately , Johnston lost the race to Smith . However , it was widely accepted that Smith was highly unpopular in South Carolina and that Johnston would have won the primary if Roosevelt had not intervened on his behalf or if he had focused on either pleasing the state 's influential textile mill owners or preserving racial segregation . Though Johnston did not defend rights for African Americans , he would largely ignore the issue of preserving racial segregation , believing that improving the public welfare was more important . Meanwhile , Smith had opposed Roosevelt 's labor reform and for years campaigned on a two-plank platform to " keep the Negro down and the price of cotton up , " and had recently demonstrated that he intended to maintain his fight to preserve racial segregation after he had walked out of the 1936 Democratic National Convention when he heard that a black minister was going to deliver the invocation
1936 Democratic National Convention
1936 Democratic National Convention
Olin D. Johnston