Dodd is a Connecticut native and a graduate of Georgetown Preparatory School in Bethesda, Maryland, and Providence College. His father, Thomas J. Dodd, was one of Connecticut's United States Senators from 1959-1971. Chris Dodd served in the Peace Corps for two years prior to entering law school at the University of Louisville, and during law school concurrently served in the United States Army Reserve.
Dodd returned to Connecticut, winning election in 1974 to the United States House of Representatives from Connecticut's 2nd congressional district and was reelected in 1976 and 1978. He was elected United States Senator in the elections of 1980, and is now the longest-serving Senator in Connecticut's history, the 9th most senior of current Senators and one of three from the 1980 freshman class who are still serving.
Dodd served as general chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1995 to 1997. He serves as Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. In 2006, Dodd decided to run for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, but eventually withdrew after running behind several other competitors. In January 2010, shortly after Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota announced his retirement, Dodd announced that he would not run for reelection in the 2010 midterm elections.The Washington Post's "The Fix" blog posted that Dodd will announce on Wednesday, January 6, 2010 that he will not seek re-election in 2010. Several other news outlets, including MSNBC, Politico, The New York Times and FOX News made similar reports.
Reelection bid in 2010
Dodd, facing a competitive reelection bid for his Senate seat in 2010 and trailing against both of his likely Republican challengers in public opinion polling, announced in January 2010 that he would not seek reelection for a sixth term in the Senate. Polls of Connecticut voters in 2008 and 2009 had consistently suggested Dodd would have difficulty winning re-election, with 46% viewing his job performance as fair or poor and a majority stating they would vote to replace Dodd in the 2010 election.
The Washington Post's "The Fix" first reported[5] that Dodd will announce Wednesday January 6, 2010 that he would not seek re-election in 2010. MSNBC, Politico, and The New York Times made similar reports.
2008 Presidential campaign
On January 11, 2007, Dodd announced his candidacy for the office of President of the United States on the Imus in the Morning show. On January 19, 2007, Dodd made a formal announcement with supporters at the Old State House in Hartford.
The watchdog group opensecrets.org pointed out that the Dodd campaign was heavily funded by the financial services industry, which is regulated by committees Dodd chairs in the Senate.
In May, he trailed in state and national polls and acknowledged he wasn't keeping pace with rival campaigns' fund raising. However, he said that as more voters became aware of his opposition to the Iraq War, they would support his campaign. However, his prospects did not improve; a November 7, 2007 Gallup poll placed him at 1%.[19] Dodd dropped out of the primary race on the night of the January 3, 2008 Iowa caucuses after placing seventh with almost all precincts reporting, even though he had recently moved from his home state to Iowa for the campaign.Among eight major candidates for the nomination Dodd, even with later states where he was on the ballot after withdrawal, won last place by popular vote in primary (after Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Edwards, Bill Richardson, Dennis Kucinich, Joe Biden and Mike Gravel, also including uncommitted delegates and scattering votes). He won a total of 25,252 votes in delegates primaries and 9,940 in penalized contests.
Dodd later said he was not interested in running for Vice President or Senate Majority Leader. Dodd endorsed former rival Barack Obama on February 26, 2008.
U.S. Senator
Dodd was elected to the Senate in the 1980 election and was subsequently reelected in the 1986, 1992, 1998, and 2004 elections. He is the first Senator from Connecticut to serve five consecutive terms. From 1995 to 1997, he served as General Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. As General Chairman, Dodd was the DNC's spokesman. Donald Fowler served as National Chairman, running the party's day to day operations. Dodd has also involved himself in children’s and family issues, founding the first Senate Children’s Caucus and authoring the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which guarantees employees unpaid leave in the event of illness, a sick family member, or the birth or adoption of a child. To date, more than 50 million employees have taken advantage of FMLA protections. He is working to support a bill that would provide paid family and medical leave. For his work on behalf of children and families, the National Head Start association named him “Senator of the Decade” in 1990.
During the 1994 elections, the Republicans won the majority in both houses of Congress. Dodd therefore entered the minority for the second time in his Senate career. He ran for the now vacant position of Senate Minority Leader, but was defeated by South Dakota Senator Tom Daschle by one vote. The vote was tied 23-23, and it was Colorado Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell who cast the deciding vote by absentee ballot in favor of Daschle. Shortly after that, Campbell switched parties and became a Republican.
Dodd briefly considered running for President in 2004, but ultimately decided against such a campaign and endorsed fellow U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman. He then was considered as a likely running mate for his friend, eventual Democratic nominee John Kerry. He was also considered a possible candidate for replacing Tom Daschle as Senate Minority Leader in the 109th Congress, but he declined, and that position was instead filled by Harry Reid.
On July 31, 2009 he announced he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, which his aides say is at an early stage and will result in surgery during the Senate August recess. Dodd has since had the operation, and says his operation was fully successful.
[The Washington Post]]'s "The Fix" blog posted that Dodd will announce Wednesday January 6, 2010 that he will not seek re-election in 2010. MSNBC, Politico and The New York Times made similar reports.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Dodd
