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Jonathan "Jon" Robert Elrod (born May 3, 1977) is an American attorney and politician. He is a former member of the
Indiana House of Representatives The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The House is composed of 100 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. House memb ...
from District 97. 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 André D. Carson (born October 16, 1974) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2008. A member of the Democratic Party, his district includes the southern four-fifths of Indianapolis, including Downtown Indianapol ...
.


Early years

Jon Elrod grew up on the Southside area of Indianapolis. He graduated from
Franklin Central High School Franklin Central High School (FCHS) is a public four-year high school in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It is the only high school in the Franklin Township Community School Corporation. Demographics The demographic breakdown of the 2,503 ...
in 1995. In 1999, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree (magna cum laude) from
Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati and Evanston (Cincinnati), Ohio. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier has an undergraduate enrollment of 4,860 studen ...
in
Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
where he majored in history, minored in Performance Studies (Theater). He was president of the Rugby Football Club.Indiana House of Representatives Republican Caucus: State Representative Jon Elrod
/ref> Elrod received a J.D. degree cum laude in 2002 from
Indiana University Maurer School of Law The Indiana University Maurer School of Law is located on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. The school is named after Michael S. "Mickey" Maurer, an Indianapolis businessman and 1967 alumnus who donated $35 million in 2008 ...
. He was on the editorial staff of the
Indiana Law Journal The ''Indiana Law Journal'' is a general law review founded in 1925. It is published quarterly by students of the Indiana University Maurer School of Law at the flagship Bloomington campus. One of the ten most-cited law review articles of all ti ...
. While in law school, Elrod studied at the University of London, School of Advanced Legal Studies. Elrod is an associate at Elrod and Mascher, P.C., a law firm in Indianapolis.


Entrance into politics

Elrod successfully ran for the Center Township Board in 2004. The election of a Republican party member for the board was considered to be at "long odds" by the Indianapolis Star (newspaper).NRCC
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. At the time, the
Indianapolis Star Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
reported in a February 1, 2004 article citing an Indiana Chamber of Commerce Report that the Center Township Trustee spent $2.35 for every $1.00 of poor relief provided. Elrod ran a strong grassroots campaign for an office that he admits very few people knew existed. He won a close race in the predominantly Democratic district by 35 votes. The next session, several lawmakers introduced bills to eliminate township government in the state altogether. The failure of such bills led Elrod to declare his candidacy for the Indiana State House of Representatives in District 97.


State Representative for District 97 (Indiana)

In an election in 2006, Elrod defeated Ed Mahern by 8 votes. Elrod knocked on nearly 6000 doors and gained a reputation for his personal correspondence with voters in what many called an underdog victory.


Campaign for U.S. Congress

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 Julia May Carson (née Porter; July 8, 1938 – December 15, 2007) was a member of the United States House of Representatives for from 1997 until her death in 2007 (numbered as the 10th District from 1997 to 2003).
. Carson died on December 15 causing a by-election to be scheduled for March 11, 2008 instead of during the regular election in November. Elrod won the Republican primary and was challenged by Carson's grandson,
city councilman A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural council ...
André Carson André D. Carson (born October 16, 1974) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2008. A member of the Democratic Party, his district includes the southern four-fifths of Indianapolis, including Downtown Indianapol ...
who is a member of the Democratic Party and Sean Shepard, as a member of the Libertarian Party. Carson defeated Elrod by 11%. The short amount of time before the election resulted in an emphasis in fundraising before campaigning can start.NBC News
/ref> The seat was last held by a Republican party member in 1972. At a press conference, Elrod shared his anger at what he felt was a continued lack of urgency from the Indiana State House of Representatives in addressing the growing public outcry over pressing issues like a recent property tax increase in the state. He stated that, "the Indiana General Assembly was once maligned as the ‘worse deliberative body in the country,’ is at a historic threshold. For the first time in a generation, perhaps two generations, the legislature is poised to pass sweeping bipartisan reforms of local government, spending, and property taxes." He went on to add, "I recognize the potential of this legislature, and I am excited about the tasks before us this session. When the gavel falls for the last time this winter, I will have experienced great achievement or great disappointment. Indiana will have marched toward fairness and efficiency, or stumbled down the same path of political expediency and special interests." Elrod said that as someone who never desired to seek higher office the thought of Congress seemed absurd. Especially as a Republican from Center Township. However, he relayed that now more than ever, a need for change motivated him to step forward and announce his candidacy for U.S. Congress. He cited partisanship, influence-peddling, and wedge issues as the reason for sagging Congressional approval ratings. Elrod then shared, "it is abundantly clear which legislature deserves the title of ‘worst deliberate body in the country.’"November 15, 2007 Announcement speech Elrod was endorsed by Senator
Richard Lugar Richard Green Lugar (April 4, 1932 – April 28, 2019) was an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Indiana from 1977 to 2013. He was a member of the Republican Party. Born in Indianapolis, Lugar graduated from De ...
and
The Indianapolis Star ''The Indianapolis Star'' (also known as ''IndyStar'') is a morning daily newspaper that began publishing on June 6, 1903, in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It has been the only major daily paper in the city since 1999, when the ''Indianap ...
.


Campaign for Reelection as State Representative for District 97 (Indiana)

In the 2008 general election, Elrod did not seek a rematch against Carson, deciding to seek reelection in his strongly Democratic constituency. His ability to beat the odds was not enough that year, and Democrat Mary Ann Sullivan defeated him by a 55% to 45% margi


References


External links


Jon Elrod's campaign siteJon Elrod's House site
*Photograph of Elro

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elrod, Jon 1977 births Living people Indiana University Maurer School of Law alumni Politicians from Indianapolis Members of the Indiana House of Representatives Xavier University alumni American United Methodists