DODD WILL NOT SEEK REELECTION IN 2010

BREAKING, 12:06AM: Longtime Connecticut Senator Christopher J. Dodd will announce Wednesday that he will not seek a sixth term, the Washington Post reports. The incumbent Democrat, who was first elected to the Senate in 1980 and is currently chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, faced increasingly vocal opposition from Republicans, and even some Democrats, for his involvement in the financial crisis and subprime mortgage scandal. Dodd's announcement comes one day after Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan announced that he would not seek re-election in North Dakota. The two Democratic retirements are the first to be announced just days into what is shaping up to be a challenging year for Congressional Democrats.