Chris Dodd Inching His Way Back in Connecticut Poll

After a rough few months, Sen. Christopher Dodd is inching back in the polls in Connecticut with improvements in his job approval ratings and his standing against Republican challenger Rob Simmons, a former congressman, according to a Quinnipiac University survey conducted Sept. 10-14.


Connecticut voters still disapprove of the five-term Democrat's job performance by 49 percent to 43 percent, but that's better than the 52-42 disapproval marks he got in July. And in a theoretical match-up against Simmons, Dodd narrowed him deficit by four points and now trails 44 percent to 39 percent. In July, Simmons led by nine points.

Two other Republicans had previously said they'd seek their party's nomination, former ambassador to Ireland Thomas Foley and two-term state senator Sam Caligiuri. And yesterday, Linda McMahon, the chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment and the wife of WWE chairman Vincent McMahon, said she is running too.
Dodd's stock had plummeted after it was revealed, in the wake of the subprime mortgage crisis, that he had been given VIP treatment by one of the subprime industry's biggest players, Countrywide Financial. Dodd had responsibility for oversight of the industry because he headed the Senate Banking Committee.
That cloud is still hanging over Dodd. Connecticut voters say by 51 percent to 40 percent that he is not trustworthy, and 59 percent said their opinion had not been changed by the Senate Ethics Committee decision in August not to pursue an investigation of Dodd and another senator tied to Countrywide, North Dakota's Kent Conrad.

Dodd's "approval keeps edging up, and he is bringing down his high negatives," said Quinnipiac Polling Director Doug Schwartz. "But the incumbent has made only slight progress against Republican front-runner Rob Simmons. About 40 percent of voters will vote for anybody but Dodd, as evidenced by their willingness to vote for Republican candidates they haven't heard of."
As for the GOP nomination, the poll had Simmons with 43 percent of the vote, with all other hopefuls in single digits. The survey was taken before McMahon's announcement, although it's hard to tell how seriously her candidacy will be taken.