Associated Press reporting Sen. Chris Dodd to retire – Update: Blumenthal in

Just waking up listening to WFSB in Hartford – the local CBS affiliate – and they are referencing an Associated Press story in the Washington Times. Sen. Dodd will not seek re-election this November. Looks like you can peal off those Dump Dodd bumper stickers.

From the Associated Press and Washington Times, with an official announcement from Dodd today at noon ET from his home in East Haddam, IowaIreland … Connecticut. (sorry…)

Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd, a five-term Democrat whose political stock began falling after the financial meltdown and his failed 2008 presidential bid, has decided not to seek re-election in November, Democratic officials told Associated Press early Wednesday.

Dodd was expected to make an announcement Wednesday. The officials who disclosed his plans would speak only on condition of anonymity ahead of the announcement. The Washington Post first reported Dodd’s decision.

Update: Alex Isenstadt and Josh Kraushaar at Politico report Connecticut Attorney General Dick Blumenthal is all in.

Now Democrats expect that Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal will run in Dodd’s place, giving the party a stronger nominee in a race that was widely believed to be a toss-up.

A top national Democrat said Blumenthal’s candidacy was all but certain.  “He’s totally in,” said the Democrat

Posted in

Steve McGough

Steve's a part-time conservative blogger. Steve grew up in Connecticut and has lived in Washington, D.C. and the Bahamas. He resides in Connecticut, where he’s comfortable six months of the year.

12 Comments

  1. Jeff S on January 6, 2010 at 3:25 am

    I saw this coming when they announced he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.  This gave him an out should his poll numbers continue to tank.



  2. gillie28 on January 6, 2010 at 3:28 am

    Bumper stickers: or they can just add "ed" to them- dumpED Dodd!  Now they have to work on the Blumenthal bumper stickers.  Since I don't really have a problem with him (ducking) I won't offer any suggestions.  But, if I did (:D) I might offer:

    "Bloomin' Blumie" (if you're English it would make sense);

    "Don't fall for Blumenthal";

    "Kept in thrall by Blumenthal." 

    Of course, since I don't have a problem with him running, I wouldn't dream of submitting them for anyone's approval.



  3. BobInTN on January 6, 2010 at 3:55 am

    Blumenthal is pretty much a lock.  I find it hard to believe that this wasn't the plan.  You're gonna see a lot more 'taking one for the team'!



  4. TomTGRWolcott on January 6, 2010 at 4:15 am

    This is NOT right.  I wanted to see so desperatly the race that would captivated Connecticut this year.  Now it looks like it might be gone, all gone.  No Media Blitz and no down right dirty political adds to grace our televisions.  I am so dissapointed, because I  would of like to have seen Christopher Dodd loose his seat, not give it up.  now the whole political game has changed, how sad.



  5. pauldow on January 6, 2010 at 4:28 am

    This must be going down well for those people who went to that $500/plate fundraiser at the Science Center last month.

    I was watching WTNH for a few minutes this morning, and their field reporter, Kent Pierce, identified his republican opponents Linda McMahon as a millionaire, and Peter Schiff as a millionaire. For some reason he never mentioned that Chris Dodd is a millionaire. It's like building wealth is a bad thing.  Of course at 7AM he's doing "LIVE!" reports from outside of Dodd's house even though there's nothing going on there until noon. There's no information happening that couldn't be reported from inside the studio.



    • donh on January 6, 2010 at 7:22 pm

      Don't cry for the $500 plate donors that got ripped off. Dump Dodd protestors outnumbered the donors. Chris Dodd did not even bother to show up due to a lack of meal tickets sold…… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHLjexipIPs



  6. Dimsdale on January 6, 2010 at 6:46 am

    Man, this guy will do anything to avoid driving himself from his Fairfield mansion to Hartford every day!

     

    Just what Connecticut needs: a guy that cost the state jobs and businesses getting a chance to do it nationally!

     

    RUBBERSTAMP IT ALL BLUMENTHAL!



  7. donh on January 6, 2010 at 2:50 pm

    Dick  Sue the Mall is a menace to every  working man and woman in CT, an enemy to  every business and shop keeper. Every home owner that holds so much as a tag sale has to live in fear of being shaken down by this grease haired goose stepping lackey of the left. If granny Rell were any kind of republican leader of character and distiction, she would declare Jan 6 a statewide holiday that rises to the level of May 8th V-E day .



  8. 305 days and countin on January 6, 2010 at 3:25 pm

    305 days until the November elections and the news is double good, we'll get a new Attorney General (at last!) and Dodd will be history! Even leaving before the ax falls so we can't shame him, what's not to like? The real work is to see that our eternal general doesn't go to Washington, it's not time to roll over and let a lib like sue em all and stick your mug in front of the camera Richard in and have the madness continue.



  9. sammy22 on January 7, 2010 at 5:03 am

    Good riddance. Out w/ the old in w/ the new.



  10. VincentMVNY on January 7, 2010 at 5:40 am

    Thief Dodd out, blithting idiot Blumenthal in!

    If you doubt that, go to youtube.com and put in search term:

    'Blumenthal Glenn Beck' and watch how Beck took him apart when Blumenthal wanted to insert himself into the AIG bonuses controversy. As the chief law enforcemdent officer of CT he thought it was OK for him to take away the AIG employee's bonuses they had earned under a legal contract they signed to stay on at AIG to help keep it afloat. His position amounted to legitimatizing state theft of private property. Some A. G.!



  11. AggieMom on January 7, 2010 at 8:24 am

    It's too bad Dodd is robbing CT voters the opportunity of throwing the bum out.  BUT, you can still make National headlines next November by keeping the next "bum in thal" out and voting in an Attorney General who will do his job fairly and with justice.   What a message that would send to Washington if you could pull it off.  As a former resident, with a daughter still there, I am rooting for you.



The website's content and articles were migrated to a new framework in October 2023. You may see [shortcodes in brackets] that do not make any sense. Please ignore that stuff. We may fix it at some point, but we do not have the time now.

You'll also note comments migrated over may have misplaced question marks and missing spaces. All comments were migrated, but trackbacks may not show.

The site is not broken.