There Is No Joy in Doddville
The latest Quinnipiac University poll results are in for Sen. Chris Dodd’s (D-Conn.) re-election bid — and they’re being cast as a win for the senator, even though he still trails a possible Republican challenger. The survey found that nearly half of Connecticut voters don’t trust Dodd and one in four Democrats say they’d support a virtual unknown (Connecticut businessman Merrick Alpert) in the primary over the five-term incumbent.
The poll was conducted between May 20 and 25 — while President Obama was heaping praise on Dodd for his work authoring the credit card reform bill, signed into law last week.
Dodd must be concerned when the popular president goes to bat for him and he still sees polling numbers like this:
“„Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd is gaining on former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, a possible Republican challenger, and now trails 45 – 39 percent in the 2010 Senate race, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.
“„This compares to a 50 – 34 percent Simmons lead in an April 2 poll by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University.
And this:
“„Connecticut voters disapprove 53 – 38 percent of the job the Democratic incumbent is doing, compared to 58 – 33 percent April 2, his lowest approval rating ever.
And this:
“„Connecticut voters say 49 – 35 percent that Dodd is not honest and trustworthy and say 47 – 42 percent that he does not care about their needs and problems.
Despite those poor reviews, the pollsters say Dodd “appears to have stopped the bleeding” since news broke that he had inserted a provision in the stimulus bill that paved the way for the AIG bonus scandal, all while being the top recipient of campaign contributions from AIG employees since 1989.
Quinnipiac University Poll Director Douglas Schwartz said he “Dodd is an exceptionally skilled politician, and he has plenty of time. He is lucky to get this early warning more than a year before the election.”
If this is luck, I’m guessing Dodd’s opponents want none of it.
