(CNN) - A new poll spells more trouble for Sen. Chris Dodd's bid for re-election.
A Quinnipiac University survey released Thursday morning suggests that 54 percent of Connecticut voters disapprove of the job Dodd's doing as their senior U.S. senator, with 4 in 10 giving him a thumbs up. The 54 percent disapproval rating is up 5 points from September. The poll also indicates that by 53 percent to 39 percent, Connecticut voters don't think the five term Democrat deserves to be re-elected next year.
According to the survey, Dodd is losing or tied with all of his potential Republican challengers in hypothetical 2010 general election matchups. Former Rep. Rob Simmons leads Dodd by 11 points, with former World Wrestling Entertainment executive Linda McMahon, new to the race, 2 points ahead of the incumbent senator. The poll indicates that former ambassador Tom Foley leads Dodd by seven points, with Sam Caligiuri and Peter Schiff in a statistical tie with Dodd. In a hypothetical Republican primary, the survey suggests that Simmons has the early lead.
"After inching up in the polls for months, Sen. Christopher Dodd is sliding back down again on job approval. He continues to struggle with independent voters as 60 percent disapprove of the way he is handling his job. President Barack Obama is still popular with independents, but voters say that his support of Dodd won't affect their Senate vote," says Quinnipiac University Poll Director Douglas Schwartz.
"Health care is an issue that should work for Sen. Dodd. Voters who tell us it's the most important issue side with him. But voters who care most about the economy say the Republican candidate will be better able to deal with it. If the economy worsens, this will hurt Dodd," adds Schwartz.
Dodd's approval rating in Quinnipiac polling bottomed out at 33 percent earlier this year, after the news of his involvement in the AIG bonus controversy. Since then, a bill Dodd co-sponsored that makes it tougher for credit card issuers to raise feeds and interest rates was signed into law. And Dodd took a leading role in steering health care reform through one of the key congressional committees dealing with the legislation.
"Health care is an issue that should work for Sen. Dodd. Voters who tell us it's the most important issue side with him. But voters who care most about the economy say the Republican candidate will be better able to deal with it. If the economy worsens, this will hurt Dodd," says Schwartz.
"We'll see lots of polls over the course of this campaign, some accurate, and some not. In truth, we have a hard time believing Chris Dodd has done anything but strengthen his political position based on his well-publicized and heroic work on healthcare reform, tightening our country's financial regulations and protecting consumers," says Colleen Flanagan, Communications Director for the Connecticut Democratic Party.
The Quinnpiac University poll was conducted November 3-8, with 1,236 Connecticut registered voters questioned by telephone. The survey's overall sampling error is plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.
- CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report
Follow Paul Steinhauser on Twitter: @psteinhausercnn
From CNN Politics
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As the 2010 elections nears, more heat will be place on Dodd for his involvement with the Fannie Mae Freddie Mac debacle and his sweetheart deals with Countrywide just to name a few hurdles and if my fellow Americans would simply vote out any and all incumbents than we might than truly have the CHANGE we all want.
Time to leave Dodd, the senate and the voters of your state need new and fresh ideas, not YOUR old politics!
Bye bye!
Chris Dodd and Bawney Fwank...
The King and Queen of the Housing Meltdown.
Tick tock, boys, tick tock... 2010 is just around the corner.
Have you made arrangements for airfare, moving vans and additional luggage yet? I would highly recommend you do so.
Oh, also talk to a realtor and see if they can offload your DC properties to one of those great subprime food-stamp-mortage borrowers you fought so hard to lend money to.
How do this many people approve of this crook!! Stand up to your party (either party) and get the crooks out now! Dodd was a main factor in the mortgage crisis...but at least he got his sweetheart deal from Countrywide.
Vote Dodd Out!
Another useless poll to make the conservatives republicans believe they have a chance.
I am no big fan of Dodd and personally don't think he should be reelected. But that is the choice of the voters in his state.
The bigger picture, as I see it, is the complete inability of Democrats to stand together. Republicans stand together all the time, even if decisions are against the interest of them, their districts, and states.
Democrats better start figuring out that not looking out for the interest of their party and rather concentrate on their own little world will lead to them losing power just as they did in 1994. As much as I disagree with Republicans, Democrats are spineless whimps. Yuk.
How can anyone support the republicans when they are the ones that ruin the economy, lose jobs, lied about the war, stole from the American people, refusing healthcare to everyone, giving tax breaks to companies that are still laying workers off. Anybody that supports this party is just plain dumb.
Polls show voter regret..
The DNC better get cracking - if they thought they could ride through this election cycle on the back of the 2008 wins, they are sorely mistaken. Get moving. Put some energy into the non-Republicans or 60 votes will soon be a distant memory.
Dodd screwed the country, along with Obama with the push for more high risk loans for illegals and low income people that couldn't repay...because they had to abandon and foreclose, it caused the financial distress that we're all feeling. In a nutshell all of the downturn in our financial markets can be traced back to Dodd, Reid, Pelosi, Raines, and Obama...their drive to win votes by extorting lenders to make these high risk ventures caused the meltdown.
It's time for Senator Dodd to step down for others to fix up our finance system. He and Rep. Barney Frank failed managing our national finance system and badly damaged our economy as bank and finance committee chair in the Senate and House. Both of them should have stepped down immediately last year.
Dodd is dishonest (as most Congressman/women are).
Joanne
MN
It is hard for me to feel sorry for Chris Dodd. He is going to have a secure retirement financially, all the health care he wants and needs, AND he has made millions off our backs. We are the ones I feel sorry for. We have confused our representatives for kings and queens when they are really our servants.
The man is a menace , can we impeach him rather than wait??
Get this guy out of there, it's time. He's the epitome of career politician and has lost his handle on what is important in favor of politics and personal gain (inappropriate Countrywide loans, dodging questions from journalists, using his influence to "make this go away"). He got a little too loose and greedy. It happens on both sides of the aisle, but here are too many coincidences to ignore for this one.
He really needs to GO....his name is so tainted with what has occured to us with the foreclousers, and countrywide scams, freddie, fannie, finance committe, it's time to resigned and kick back all the money he has saved up with lobbyist that it's sad for him stay. Sorry but his own doing. bye bye...
It's a shame it doesn't show some jail time.
Dodd needs to be doing jail time instead serving in the senate.
Good! Get this guy OUT!!!
Anyone that could vote for Dodd has issues. The man is beyond ethically challenged and sadly symptomatic of the policiticians we keep re-electing for the Congress & the Senate. Kick this chumb to the curb.
Dodd has been there far too long and done far too much damage. Boot him out of office.
If he wasn't in trouble, that would be a problem. This guy is classic, writing a bill to regulate the problem HE was a major part of. How's your sweet heart loan Dodd? We have NOT forgotten your role in the collapse.
Republicans are good for the economy? What a crock. Republicans are good are creating chaos and ensuring that it won't be fixed.
I live in Connecticut but Dodd is not my representative. He really doesn't understand what is important to us and this is showing in how he carries out his task. He now appears to be an elitist who knows what is good for us and it is time to say good bye to him.
How could anybody approve of the job this clown has done? If he's not a poster child for term limits he should be.
Connecticut voters elected Lieberman, so I am sure they are eager to send another incompetent republican to DC.
this is fantastic news.
This guy has been so detructive to this country with his legislation and dealings with the banking industry.
Not sure who is more responssible for the banking collapse, dodd or clinton?
More dumb polls, who is doing the polling, fake news.
This corrupt politician should be led out of the Senate in handcuffs right now. Why he hasn't been investigated for all the money and favors he got is a mystery (not really). Thank God the voters of Connecticut are finally getting a clue and realizing they own one of the Senate's worst.
Too bad. I think most incumbents will be in the same position. They need to grow up and get stuff done, instead of acting like a bunch of 2 year olds.
No he does not need to be re-elected nor does any other incumberent. It is time for America to clean up the ship and take our nation back. It has fallen to ACLUs, homosexuals of Hollywood and other non-God Fearing gangsters. The only way to clear them out is vote them out. LET'S MOBILIZE AND DO IT. NO MATTER WHAT PARTY YOU CALL YOURSELF BELONGING TO. First we are Americans. Lets start acting like our forefathers who established this country on Christanity.
Dodd is a lame duck crook and after he loses he should be under investigation and jailed if found guilty. he has betrayed his state and his country..
Reid and Dodd are finished. They might as well inflict as much damage as they can right now with their "lame duck" status. Oops, too late.
The voters should be the least of his concerns. He should be in front of a jury defending his criminal behavior. I don't live in CT but will actually send money to whomever is running against him in the general election.
get him back to business
I don't have any love for Dodd, but I don't see why they think that being a republican would make you any better at not letting those robber barons on wall street continue to steal from the taxpayer. If anything I would think that the party's line on that is , let the CEO and CFO's do what ever they want. That has been the mantra for 20 plus years. Off shore tax havens, liquidating local workshops for cheaper labor overseas or no company at all and then short selling to 401k's so they take the hit when after the profits are gone.
Did they ask what a different Democrat would do in the poll?
Get the bum out!
According to the survey, Dodd is losing or tied with all of his potential Republican challengers in hypothetical 2010 general election matchups.
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Truth of the matter is that based on the GOP's current flatline status, the only race that any RethugliKlan could aspire to do well in would be a HYPOTHETICAL one.
Please take this poll serious ie- Virginia governor race is a prime example. The people are hurting and need help. So I suggestion to you is to start your campaign now with door to door contact and small support groups.
As a former Connecticut resident...don't vote this guy back in!!!