In this paper, we explore the political basis of the New Deal, with special reference to agricultural programs in the South. An analysis of specific New Deal programs is largely missing from the literature. To that end, we investigate federal emergency relief efforts targeting agriculture—one of the hardest hit sectors of the economy and one of the Roosevelt administration's top priorities. Our analysis suggests that the cross-state distribution of agricultural relief was guided more by President Roosevelt's electoral strategy and by the interests of the members of key congressional agriculture committees than by objective economic need.