He worked as an adjunct professor at the Shepard Broad Law Center and served as President of the Broward County Bar Association[4] and as a member of the Florida Election Commission.

[5] As a private practice attorney, he sued DuPont over fungicide-caused crop damage, took up medical malpractice cases, and filed a lawsuit "that helped trigger design changes in cars to prevent doors from flying open in accidents.

Campbell attacked Feren for living outside of the Senate district,[7] for few legislative accomplishments in the Florida House, and for his close relationship with "special-interest groups.

[14] In 2002, following redistricting, Campbell ran for re-election in the 32nd District, which contained most of the territory that he had previously represented in Broward County, including Coral Springs, Margate, Parkland, Sunrise, and Tamarac.

"[17] Campbell suggested that Ehrlich joined the race "in a misguided, but benevolent, attempt to give him statewide exposure by forcing the primary," though he denied that he was behind the effort.

[5] Campbell advocated for a reduction of backlogs in the state's court system by hiring more prosecutors and public defenders and creating rehabilitation and pre-trial diversion programs, while McCollum argued for a limitation on lawsuits.

He, in turn, attacked McCollum for his record in Congress, where he sponsored legislation that would have removed "whistle-blower protections in Medicaid fraud cases," and for working a lobbyist representing large corporations.

"[23] He was also endorsed by the Tallahassee Democrat, which noted that, although the two candidates were alike, Campbell "deserves to be the state's top law-enforcement official because of his proven ability to foster bipartisanship and his record in private life as a top-flight attorney.

[27] Though the race was considered to be the "most competitive state Senate seat" in 2008,[26] Campbell ended up dropping out due to a negative reaction to his hip surgery.

When Atwater vacated the seat in 2010 to run for Chief Financial Officer of Florida, Campbell considered entering the race,[28] but ultimately declined to do so.