by John Beagle
James Edwin Campbell was the 38th governor of Ohio and was born in Middletown, Ohio.
Jimmy Campbell graduated from Middletown public schools and went on to Miami University of Ohio.
The American Civil War temporarily halted Campbell's education. He joined the United States Navy in the summer of 1863, but he left the service after becoming ill. He returned home to study law and was admitted to the bar in 1865.
In 1867, he began practicing law in Hamilton, Ohio
Campbell had first affiliated himself with the Republican Party. He switched in the early 1870s when he became a member of the Democratic Party. He remained a Democrat for the rest of his life.
First serving as prosecutor in Butler County, Ohio from 1876-1880, Campbell was then elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives twice from Ohio's 7th congressional district (Forty-eighth and Fiftieth Congresses) and once from the 3rd district (Forty-ninth Congress), serving from 1884-1889.
In the 49th Congress, he was chairman of the House Committee on Alcoholic Liquor Traffic.
Campbell then was elected to the Ohio governorship, serving from 1890 to 1892.
As governor, Campbell worked to restore home rule to Ohio cities. Campbell believed that the cities should have the right to appoint their own officials.
He was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1891, losing to future president William McKinley. He was unsuccessful in a third run for governor in 1895.
Remaining politically active, Campbell was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1892, 1920, and 1924. He served on the commission to codify the State of Ohio laws from 1908-1911.
He resumed the practice of law in Columbus, Ohio after 1892 and died there on December 17,1924. He is buried in Green Lawn Cemetery.