As a lifelong Farmington resident, Rod met his lovely wife Pearl (from Bloomfield), and they were married in 1985. In May, they will have been married for thirty-nine years, and have four sons and six grandchildren. He became very involved in Republican politics in 1999 because of his passion for being a voice for the unborn.

 

In 2002, he opened and ran the John Sanchez for Governor office in Farmington. Two years later, he was chosen by the New Mexico Republican Party to be a Presidential Elector in the 2004 elections. He then served as Chairman for San Juan County Republicans for four years from 2006 to 2010. In 2011, John Sanchez chose Rod to be his Chief of Staff when he was elected as Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico.

 

In 2014, he was first elected to serve San Juan County as State Representative in District 1 and, in 2016, was elected as House Republican Whip and served in that position for six years.