US Senator Dodd's exit signals Democratic election worries (Roundup)

Jan 6, 2010, 18:20 GMT

Washington - Christopher Dodd, a long-time US senator and leading voice in the left-leaning Democratic Party, said Wednesday that he won't run for re-election in 2010.

Dodd's decision came a day after another Democratic senator, Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, also said he would not run again in what could signal trouble for the Democrats' hopes of holding on to their legislative majorities in November.

Tough legislative battles in 2009 over health care reform and reviving the US economy - both involving Dodd - have taken their toll on the popularity of President Barack Obama's party.

A Gallup poll on Wednesday gave Obama a job approval rating of 50 per cent, one of the lowest ever for a president heading into his second year in the White House.

One-third of the 100-member Senate and the entire House of Representatives will be up for re-election in November. Republicans, who hold just 40 seats in the Senate, see the election as a major opportunity to make gains.

Dodd, who since 1980 has represented the left-leaning north- eastern state of Connecticut, was considered one of the most vulnerable Democrats facing re-election after ethical probes and his role in a scandal over bonus payments to executives at bailed out financial firm American International Group (AIG).

Dodd, 66, acknowledged that he found himself 'in the toughest political shape of my career,' and his decision will likely make it easier for Democrats to hold onto his Senate seat in November.

'This past year has raised some challenges that insisted I take stock of my life,' Dodd said in a statement outside his home in Connecticut. Among other things, he mentioned his battle with prostate cancer over the summer.

As chair of the Senate's powerful banking and health committees, Dodd has been a tremendously influential Democrat through his tenure and bid for the party's presidential nomination in 2008.

'While his work in the Senate is not yet finished, his leadership in that institution will be missed,' Obama said in a statement.