Some interesting news in the Connecticut Senate Race:
Longtime Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd, tarnished by last year’s financial blow-up, continues to struggle as he prepares for a reelection bid in 2010.
The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone poll finds that Republican challenger Rob Simmons leads Dodd 49% to 39% in an early look at next year’s potential match-up. Five percent (5%) say they’d prefer some other candidate, and six percent (6%) are not sure.
While Simmons, a former congressman, is the strongest early challenger to the Democratic incumbent, there are several other Republicans in the running. Dodd finds himself essentially even with state Senator Sam Caligiuri, former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Tom Foley and Peter Schiff, the high-profile president of Euro Pacific Capital. In each of those match-ups, Dodd earns between 40% and 43% of the vote while the Republicans all fall in the same range.
Considering that Schiff is a virtual political unknown, his showing against Dodd is impressive, and an indication of just how much trouble Dodd is in next year. Of course, Schiff needs to get past the primary before he could face Dodd, and that may be more difficult.
