[2] Prior to his election to parliament, he ran a law firm in the Gold Coast suburb of Hope Island.
[3] Caldwell was pre-selected by the Liberal National Party (LNP) to run in the seat of Broadwater at the 2012 Queensland state election.
In February 2012, a month before the election, he was disendorsed after the party received a complaint from a member of the public about a trip Caldwell had made to a swinger's club.
[9] Following the resignation of former minister Stuart Robert from parliament, Caldwell was selected as the LNP's candidate in Fadden for the by-election, defeating four other nominees in three rounds of voting.
[10] Caldwell stated that the by-election would be a way to send a message to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on issues relating to the economy, saying that he knew he "can be the one they can support in order to deliver for our local community.