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Dodd Slips

An story in The Day of New London examines the slippage in US Sen. Chris Dodd’s popularity, now hovering around 50%: “The percentage of voters who disapprove of how Dodd is handling his job has risen six points since March to 34 percent…”

Doug Schwartz, the pollmeister at Quinnipiac University, attributes the dip to Dodd’s deal with Countrywide and resentment over Dodd’s failed presidential bid: “The perception was that he was not focusing on his job as senator representing Connecticut,” said Schwartz.

Former Democratic state party chairman George Jepsen begs to differ. Jepsen said it wasn’t unusual for failed presidential candidates to suffer a home-state backlash and attributed Dodd’s slippage to, according to the Day, “the anti-incumbent mood from the sour economy."

If Jepsen’s analysis is right –it isn’t – the Democrat Congressional delegation should be shaking in its boots. The last Republican congressman standing in New England is moderate Rep. Chris Shays; the rest are all Democrat incumbents.

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