Lloyd served from 1885 to 1889 in the lower house of the St. Louis Municipal Assembly, serving as speaker for the last two years. He served in various Republican party posts, including being a state Republican committeeman from 1900 to 1904. He was a 1908 Republican National Convention delegate. Lloyd was elected to the state legislature in 1908 and 1910 and served as House minority leader. In 1912 he was the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor and lost to Democrat William Rock Painter. He was elected lieutenant governor of Missouri in 1920 on a Republican ticket with governor Arthur M. Hyde, serving from January 10, 1921 to January 12, 1925. Lloyd then ran for the Republican nomination for governor in 1924, but came in a distant second to Superintendent of Schools Sam Aaron Baker in a three-way race.