Tom Campbell (California Politician) - Congressional and State Senate Career

Congressional and State Senate Career

Campbell took a leave of absence in 1988 to run for the Republican nomination in California's 12th Congressional District, which included his home in Campbell and Stanford University. The 12th had traditionally been a moderate Republican bastion, but had grown increasingly friendly to Democrats over the years. Campbell soundly defeated first-term incumbent Ernie Konnyu in the Republican primary and narrowly defeated his Democratic opponent, San Mateo County Supervisor Anna Eshoo. He served two terms before making an unsuccessful bid for the Republican nomination for the Senate seat being vacated by Alan Cranston. He lost the Republican primary to a considerably more conservative Republican, Bruce Herschensohn, who in turn was defeated by Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Boxer. His political career would have probably been in jeopardy in any case; his district had been renumbered as the 14th District and had been made considerably more Democratic than its predecessor. (It was won by Eshoo, who still holds the seat.)

In 1993, California State Senator Becky Morgan stepped down mid-term, and Campbell won a special election to replace her. In the California state Senate, Campbell was Chairman of the Housing Committee, Vice Chairman of the Education Committee, and served on the Budget Committee. California Journal rated him the Best Problem Solver in the State Senate, the Most Ethical State Senator, and the overall Best State Senator.

In 1995, 15th District Democratic Congressman Norman Mineta, later the Secretary of Commerce under president Bill Clinton and Secretary of Transportation under George W. Bush, unexpectedly resigned. Campbell's home had been redrawn into this San Jose-based district, and he ran in the special election. Mineta had held the seat since 1975, and it was widely considered a safe Democratic district. Despite the considerable disadvantage in voter registration and Democratic attempts to tie him to Speaker Newt Gingrich, Campbell won the December special election easily. He won a full term almost as easily in 1996 and was handily re-elected in 1998.

During his two stints in Congress, Campbell was reckoned as one of the more moderate House Republicans. He was very liberal on social issues (for instance, he was a strong supporter of abortion and gay rights) while conservative on fiscal matters. This was not surprising, as Bay Area Republicans tend to be somewhat more moderate on social and environmental matters than their counterparts in the rest of California. He has a decided libertarian streak, and remains popular with libertarian-leaning Republicans. As a fiscal conservative, he was the only Republican in the House to vote against the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997.

Campbell led a group of 17 bipartisan members of Congress who filed a lawsuit against President Bill Clinton in 1999 over his conduct of the war in Kosovo. In the filing, they accused Clinton of not reporting to Congress within 48 hours on the status of the action as required by the 1973 War Powers Resolution and not first obtaining a declaration of war from Congress as required in the Constitution. Congress had voted 427 to 2 against a declaration of war with Yugoslavia and had voted to deny support for the air campaign. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that since Congress had voted for funding after the U.S. was actively engaged in the war with Kosovo, legislators had sent a confusing message about whether they approved of the war. Campbell said afterwards that this was a sidestepping of the law, and lawmakers who disagree with a war should not be forced to cut off funding for troops who are in the midst of it in order to get a judge to order an end to it.

In 2000, Campbell won the Republican nomination to take on Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein. Despite touting his service as a Republican representing a strongly Democratic district, he was underfunded and a decided underdog against the popular, heavily financed Feinstein. Campbell was badly defeated, losing by over 19 points. He even lost his own district by almost 15 points. State Assemblyman Mike Honda, a Mineta protege, won Campbell's old seat by 12 points; the Republicans have only put up nominal challengers in that district since then.

In 2008, Campbell wrote in Reason that he would be voting no on Proposition 8 per his Republican beliefs that "government should be limited. Government has no business making distinctions between people based on their personal lives."