In 2014, Harold unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Rodney Davis for the Republican nomination in Illinois' 13th Congressional District. Montgomery County GOP Chair Jim Allen resigned on June 20, 2013, after comments he made regarding Erika Harold and her candidacy were publicized. Allen had sent the following email to one of Harold's supporters: “ Rodney Davis will win and the love child of the D.N.C. will be back in Shitcago by May of 2014 working for some law firm that needs to meet their quota for minority hires. The truth is Nancy Pelosi and the DEMOCRAT party want this seat. So they called RINO Timmy Johnson to be their pack mule and get little queen to run. Ann Callis gets a free ride through a primary and Rodney Davis has a battle. The little queen touts her abstinence and she won the crown because she got bullied in school,,,boohoo..kids are cruel, life sucks and you move on..Now, miss queen is being used like a street walker and her pimps are the DEMOCRAT PARTY and RINO REPUBLICANS…These pimps want something they can’t get,,, the seat held by a conservative REPUBLICAN Rodney Davis and Nancy Pelosi can’t stand it.. Little Queenie and Nancy Pelosi have so much in common but the one thing that stands out the most.. both are FORMER QUEENS, their crowns are tarnished and time has run out on the both of them.. ” —Jim Allen (June 18, 2013) In response, Harold issued a statement that said, "The views expressed within Chairman Allen’s email have no place within public discourse. These comments, however, only strengthen my resolve to run a positive campaign and reject personal attacks." Prior to his resignation, Allen stated, "The words in the commentary I wrote were completely wrong. I apologize to Erika Harold, her staff and her supporters."

In February 2018, Harold called for Burt Minor to withdraw his candidacy for the Illinois House of Representatives District 42 seat after detailing a conversation she had with him in October 2017. In an interview regarding the meeting, Harold said, "He asked me if I had children and I said I did not. He then asked me whether I was married and I said I wasn't. And then he asked whether I'd ever been married I said I have not. Then he said well are you a lesbo?" Harold also said that Minor used the N-word many times in front of her. "I said, ‘No one should use that word.’ And he repeated it again, using the full word. And I said, ‘No one should use that word.’ And he repeated it a third time, and I reiterated that that’s an offensive word for anyone to use." Regarding the conversation, Harold said, "I think that when you are a black woman running for office, you do face comments that are objectionable and it’s very important that we change that within our culture,” Harold said. “I think black women are underrepresented. I want to win this race and to be in a position to make change. I know there are a lot of women of color who need to see their perspectives and in the leaders who serve.” Minor responded to the accounts of the conversation in a written statement. "Not all Republican voters are comfortable discussing issues of race and sexual orientation," he said. "My discussion with Erika was an attempt to point out this unfortunate reality, it was in no way meant to be offensive. I honestly left our meeting unaware that our conversation might have made Erika uncomfortable. My apologies to Erika if she was in any way offended." Harold said she reported the conversation to the Republican Party after it occurred. "He wasn't a candidate at the time but we thought that people should still know about it," she said. She added, "I don't think he should be a candidate, and I think that he should withdraw from the race." Comments about Harold lead to GOP chairman's resignation In 2014, Harold unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Rodney Davis for the Republican nomination in Illinois' 13th Congressional District. Montgomery County GOP Chair Jim Allen resigned on June 20, 2013, after comments he made regarding Erika Harold and her candidacy were publicized. Allen had sent the following email to one of Harold's supporters: “ Rodney Davis will win and the love child of the D.N.C. will be back in Shitcago by May of 2014 working for some law firm that needs to meet their quota for minority hires. The truth is Nancy Pelosi and the DEMOCRAT party want this seat. So they called RINO Timmy Johnson to be their pack mule and get little queen to run. Ann Callis gets a free ride through a primary and Rodney Davis has a battle. The little queen touts her abstinence and she won the crown because she got bullied in school,,,boohoo..kids are cruel, life sucks and you move on..Now, miss queen is being used like a street walker and her pimps are the DEMOCRAT PARTY and RINO REPUBLICANS…These pimps want something they can’t get,,, the seat held by a conservative REPUBLICAN Rodney Davis and Nancy Pelosi can’t stand it.. Little Queenie and Nancy Pelosi have so much in common but the one thing that stands out the most.. both are FORMER QUEENS, their crowns are tarnished and time has run out on the both of them.. ” —Jim Allen (June 18, 2013) In response, Harold issued a statement that said, "The views expressed within Chairman Allen’s email have no place within public discourse. These comments, however, only strengthen my resolve to run a positive campaign and reject personal attacks." Prior to his resignation, Allen stated, "The words in the commentary I wrote were completely wrong. I apologize to Erika Harold, her staff and her supporters."