Let Pray This Is An Indication Of Things To Come

[Hotwheel]

Poll: Dodd trails possible GOP challengers

By Jeremy Jacobs

4/2/09

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) trailed all of his 2010 GOP challengers and registered his lowest approval rating ever in a poll released Thursday. Dodd trailed former Rep. Rob Simmons (R) by a 50-to-34 percent margin in the Quinnipiac University poll. Simmons is considered the GOP's top contender. Dodd also trailed two other Republican candidates in head-to-head match-ups in the poll. State Sen. Sam Caligiuri (R), who announced his candidacy Wednesday, beat Dodd by a 41-37 percent margin, while Dodd trailed Tom Foley, a former ambassador to Ireland who is expected to join the contest, 43 percent to 35. Dodd's plummeting approval rating lies at the root of his problems. Just a third of respondents approve of his job performance, while nearly six in 10 disapprove. Those numbers mark his lowest approval rating ever, according to Quinnipiac. “A 33 percent job approval is unheard of for a 30-year incumbent, especially a Democrat in a blue state," Douglas Schwartz, Quinnipiac's polling director, said in a statement. “Sen. Christopher Dodd’s numbers among Democrats are especially devastating. Since the AIG controversy, his approval rating among Democrats is down to 51 percent, and only 58 percent of Democrats say they will vote for him against Simmons, who at this point is the best-known and strongest Republican challenger.” Nearly six in 10 respondents also said they probably won’t or definitely won’t vote for Dodd for reelection. And more than six in 10 said it was time for new representation in the Senate. The senator came under fire for a provision he backed in the economic stimulus bill that critics said allowed bonuses to be paid to executives of insurer AIG, which has received $170 billion in bailout funds. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Dodd included the provision at his request, and some of the bonuses paid out have since been paid back. Nearly three-quarters of respondents said they blame Dodd either a lot or some for the bonuses. And when asked who is most to blame for the bonuses, 27 percent said Dodd, the second highest behind former President George W. Bush's 28 percent. There was a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percent in the poll.

[TrannyMan]

Throw the bums out