Dodd's not running again! And people are shocked!
Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo thought Dodd's seat was ultimately safe until he retired, and I have to admit that when I worked in Connecticut, I thought so as well.
The Associated Press reports that Connecticut's popular Attorney General, Richard Blumenthal, will run to replace Dodd. Blumenthal had reportedly been contemplating a run for Sen. Joseph Lieberman's spot in 2012, and now gets a chance two years earlier. Ken Dixon, a Hartford reporter for Hearst's newspapers in Connecticut, has already pretty much called it for Blumenthal. He predicts that might open up the crowded 2010 governor's race by luring folks to run for Connecticut's AG spot.
Adam Raymond at the Daily Beast thinks Dodd's departure is better for the Democrats than that of Byron Dorgan of North Dakota. While Democrats might have a tough time holding onto Dodd's spot, they could be lucky in avoiding a throw-down between Dodd and possible a Republican Senate nominee, Linda McMahon.
Now we're left to wonder why he didn't decide not to run back in August, when anger against him was just exploding and he announced he had prostate cancer. More puzzling is why the White House fought for him until the very end, as Politico reported.
--Monica Potts
