Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT), "a 30-year incumbent who has been struggling in public opinion polls for more than a year, plans to announce today he will not seek reelection," the Hartford Courant reports.
But unlike Sen. Byron Dorgan's (D-ND) decision yesterday to retire -- which leaves his party defending an open seat in a Republican-leaning state -- Dodd's retirement is actually seen as giving Democrats a better shot at
holding the seat in heavily Democratic Connecticut.
In fact, the AP reports Attorney General Richard Blumenthal (D) is wasting no time and will announce his candidacy for Dodd's seat.
Dodd will formally make his announcement at a 12 pm news conference in front of his home. Blumenthal will hold a news conference at 2:30 pm.