He was the Republican Party candidate in the Indiana's 7th congressional district special election held on March 11, 2008, to fill a vacant seat, losing to Democrat André Carson.
In 1999, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree (magna cum laude) from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio where he majored in history, minored in Performance Studies (Theater).
The election of a Republican party member for the board was considered to be at "long odds" by the Indianapolis Star (newspaper).
[4] He ran on a platform to streamline local government due to the large disparity between actual funding for poor relief and the overhead operating costs of the Center Township Trustee's Office.
[4][7] Elrod knocked on nearly 6000 doors and gained a reputation for his personal correspondence with voters in what many called an underdog victory.
[8] Elrod declared his candidacy for United States House of Representative for the 7th Congressional District of Indiana on November 15, 2007, which, at the time, was held by Julia Carson.
He stated that, "the Indiana General Assembly was once maligned as the ‘worse deliberative body in the country,’ is at a historic threshold.
His ability to beat the odds was not enough that year, and Democrat Mary Ann Sullivan defeated him by a 55% to 45% margin [1][permanent dead link].