Chris Dodd To Leave Senate; Pro-Choice Dem Blumenthal to Announce Candidacy

The Washington Post reported early this morning that Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn) has decided not to run for re-election in 2010.  Dodd is the second Democratic senator this week to announce retirement, after Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND).

Dodd's decision is being described as "another blow to the increasingly fragile Democratic majority in the Senate."

Due to declining popularity in Connecticut, Dodd was facing a tough race, at best.  Observers point to three factors contributing to eroding support for Dodd. 

According to the New York Times:

Dodd's standing in Connecticut had been on the decline starting when he made an unsuccessful run for the presidency in 2008 — moving his family to Iowa — and when questions arose about a disputed loan he took from Countrywide Financial, the fallen subprime company.

Mr. Dodd’s troubles escalated in 2008, continues the Times:

when he was one of two Democratic senators — the other was Kent Conrad of North Dakota — who had been accused of receiving improper discounts [on mortgages] from Countrywide Financial. In August, the Senate Select Committee on Ethics ruled that it had found “no credible evidence” that the senators had violated gift rules in accepting the loans.

But the committee criticized Mr. Dodd and Mr. Conrad for not avoiding the appearance of impropriety.

His support further eroded due to his role in "legislation that appeared to clear the way for bonuses to be paid to executives of American International Group, the insurance firm that received a government bailout."

Republicans had viewed the issues as powerful weapons to use against him, particularly considering the depth of anger toward A.I.G. and Countrywide.

Dodd has a 100 percent pro-choice rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America.

While Dorgan's loss is generally seen as an almost-certain gain for Republicans in North Dakota, Dodd's departure clears the path for the Senate campaign of Connecticut’s State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, also a Democrat.  Blumenthal plans to announce his candidacy at noon Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. 

The Hill reports that: 

Blumenthal is one of the most popular politicians in the state and his interest in running has been a widely known ambition for years. Blumenthal originally expressed interest in running against Sen. Joe Lieberman (I).

Blumenthal is a strong candidate.  The Hill reports that "[f]ormer Rep. Rob Simmons and wealthy businesswoman Linda McMahon are battling it out for the Republican nomination, but Blumenthal is considered a favorite in match-ups with both possible Republican nominees."

Blumenthal has been a strong supporter of women's reproductive rights at the state level.  In 2006, for example, he helped pressure Walmart to stock emergency contraception (EC) by threatening to withdraw coverage by Connecticut's insurance plans of Walmart prescriptions unless the corporation complied with medical and public health practice in filling prescriptions for EC. 

In January 2009, he led a multistate lawsuit against the Bush administration to block an impending federal rule that "gravely jeopardized women's access to vital medical services, including birth control."  Dubbed the "midnight regulations" and slated to take effect on the day of President Obama's inauguration, Blumenthal argued that the rule undercut Connecticut's contraception laws and jeopardized billions of dollars in federal public health money.  Blumenthal's lawsuit -- joined by six other states -- alleges that this Provider Conscience Rule violates federal law, women's rights and states' sovereign rights to enforce their own laws.

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