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Dodd to Drop Out of Race

January 03, 2008 10:39 PM

ABC News' Donna Hunter Reports: Senator Chris Dodd's run for president will soon come to an end, campaign officials told ABC News, following a disappointing showing in the Iowa caucuses.

After moving his entire family to Iowa, clocking thousands of miles on the road, campaigning in three statewide bus tours, and holding over 400 events the Democratic Senator from Connecticut will return to his day job in the U.S. Senate. 

From the beginning of Dodd's campaign, he was plagued by low numbers in national polls and his campaign struggled to gain traction.

ABC News' Rick Klein contributed to this report.

January 3, 2008 in Dodd, Chris, Vote 2008: Democrats | Permalink | User Comments (8) | TrackBack (0)

'Who Does Dennis Kucinich Think He Is?'

January 02, 2008 9:51 PM

ABC News' Donna Hunter reports: Saying that Sen. Chris  Dodd, D-Conn., is not too pleased with Dennis Kucinich is putting it mildly.  While at an event in Ottumwa, Iowa the senator became hot under the collar when asked about Kucinich telling his supporters to back Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., if he doesn't get the necessary 15 percent on caucus night. 

"Who is Dennis Kucinich to tell these people who to vote for? Iowans make up their own minds on who they are going to vote for and if they don't vote for you for some reason don't you start to tell them who not to vote for. I find that offensive," he said.

Dodd  was equally offended by the idea that his rivals for the White House would even think about coming to him or suggesting he follow Kucinich's lead. "I've said to everyone in these other campaigns don't come to me looking for a deal. I'm trying to convince Iowans to stand with me and support me," Dodd  said.

In the past few weeks Dodd has walked the line on whether or not he would consider a Vice President spot if he doesn't make it out of Iowa. If he's not successful he'll be supporting a Democrat no matter what.  But it's not clear if no matter what includes Kucinich.

January 2, 2008 in Dodd, Chris, Kucinich, Dennis | Permalink | User Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)

Dodd's Pitch: Experience Equals Viability

December 31, 2007 8:39 AM

ABC News' Donna Hunter Reports: Iowa voter Dennis Wolf walked into Four Brothers Pizzeria in Le Mars, Iowa as an Independent but he walked out a proud supporter of Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn.

With tears in his eyes he recalled his sister who lost her battle with breast cancer, he said if it had not been for Dodd's Family Medical Leave Act he would have been unable to take the necessary time off from work to attend to his dying sister.

"He's seasoned, tested, knowledgeable, and his service has had a real impact on my life," Wolf said.

In the days leading up to the caucuses, the Senator has spoke about his "proven track record."

"I've spent 26 years in the Senate, served in the military, served in the peace corps. I know the Middle East well, I know Latin America well, I’ve worked on domestic issues,  I wrote the family medical leave legislation… its what I’ve done for a quarter of a century."

So why has it been so hard for Senator Dodd to break through in the polls and get that name recognition like some of his bigger name counter parts?

Harold Schaitberger, President of the International Association of Fire Fighters, says forget about the polls and the celebrity names. Dodd has the backing of the influential fire fighters.

"The polls have alleged that Senator Dodd is at one percent of which we simply don’t accept," said Schaitberger.

What Schaitberger does accept is that come caucus night anything is possible. “Four years ago at this time we were aiming to come into third place with Senator John Kerry, D-Mass., we hoped to come in second but quite frankly we had no idea that we would win the Iowa caucus. Right now we are trying to be viable, I believe there is going to be four tickets coming out of Iowa and a ticket would be an incredible achievement for Senator Dodd." 

December 31, 2007 in Dodd, Chris | Permalink | User Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

I Know Who Huckabee Is, But Who Is Dodd?

December 30, 2007 11:32 AM

ABC News' Donna Hunter reports: In Sioux Falls Iowa, Senator Chris Dodd stood before a café packed wall to wall with fire fighters and members of the community to plead his case and ask for what he's calling a ticket into New Hampshire, but first he has to make it out of Iowa.

It's become all too common for the Senator to hear the words "You're just not that well known", but oh how the tides have changed. The Senator now responds, "Who would have heard of Mike Huckabee about 12 weeks ago but a bunch of Iowans decided that he was important...all of a sudden people were paying attention to someone they were not paying attention to before." And that is just the sort of attention that Dodd is in need of right about now.

As he used Governor Huckabee's surge in the polls and the national media's spotlight as inspiration, he also used Huckabee as an example of a politician with limited experience when it comes to international affairs. "We can't afford a President who needs a briefing on hotspots around the world," said Dodd in response to an aide of the governor telling CNN that the campaign needed to brief Huckabee on the situation in Pakistan.

Dodd didn't end the discussion on Pakistan with Huckabee. He went on to respectfully profess his opposition to the governor on his side of the fence -- Bill Richardson. "Richardson said President Musharraf should leave Pakistan, but what comes after President Musharraf? How can you possibly call for someone to leave when you got radical fundamentalists who may very well be in control of nuclear weapons and could cause us great danger," said Dodd.

Over the next five days the senator and International Association of Fire Fighter President Harold Schaitberger plan on rallying up as many fire fighters as possible to caucus for Dodd on January 3rd. Schaitberger says they're currently expecting at least 800 fire fighters to come out in support of the senator and they will each bring along five non-union friends. For those fire fighters who are scheduled to work caucus night, they can participate in an exchange program where they will be able to swap shifts with those who aren't caucusing.

Aren’t caucusing? Isn't that against the law in Iowa?

December 30, 2007 in Dodd, Chris | Permalink | User Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Dodd: No Oprah or Bill But An Influential Labor Leader

December 29, 2007 8:37 AM

ABC News' Donna Hunter Reports: Presidential hopeful Sen. Chris Dodd opened his speech to a group of fire fighters in Council Bluffs, Iowa with an apology. "Sorry I didn't bring Oprah Winfrey and Bill Clinton with me but I brought Harold Schaitberger," he said drawling laughter from the crowd.

With International Association of Fire Fighters President Schaitberger on hand Dodd addressed close to seventy Iowans in a small Union Fire Hall.

The address was short but Senator Dodd got right down to business and stated the facts. "Look I know I'm not as well known as the other people, I don't have the resources, the finances that they do but that doesn’t make a difference in Iowa. Iowan's vote differently here you don't vote based on celebrity and money you don't vote on who's running ahead in the polls but on who you think aught to lead the country and in six days you get a chance to do it and if you give me a chance I'll put this country back on its feet." For Senator Dodd to have a chance at a top seat in the Caucus he has to beat out some pretty big competitors but more importantly he has to convince anyone that's listening that he still has a shot.

"This Race isn't over here, said Dodd." "It's not down to one or two people and Iowans can prove that case next Thursday night when you gather in this state to send a message out there's a new sheriff in town and I hear his name is Dodd and that sheriff Dodd is going to make a difference in this country."

Dodd has struggled to break out of the single digits in polls since he announced his run for President but that's not stopping him from doing everything in his power to get his name out there with the help of the IF. In a big yellow bus reading Fire Fighters for Dodd the Senator will continue for the next six days on his "Caucus for Results" bus tour through Iowa, being joined on the road with his entire family New Years Eve on through the Caucus.

December 29, 2007 in Dodd, Chris | Permalink | User Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Dodd Deja Vu: Campaign Office Burglarized

December 04, 2007 2:00 PM

ABC News Donna Hunter Reports: Three laptop computers were stolen from the Cedar Rapids, Iowa campaign office of Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., on Sunday morning. 

The laptops contained campaign information, but nothing top secret.

Dodd spokeswoman Taylor West said that it looks like the office was not forcibly broken in to, but that the burglar or burglars were able to walk through a back door left open by a campaign staffer.

"Our staff stays pretty busy, and they're in and out of there all the time. That person was probably not aware that they were the last one to leave," West said.

Back in August, Sen. Dodd’s Senate office in Hartford, Conn. was allegedly robbed by Gilbert Soto, described as a career criminal by Nancy Milroy of the Hartford Police.

Investigators claim surveillance cameras caught Soto red-handed as he exited Dodd's office building with a television and computer. Soto was later picked up by police blocks from the campaign office.

December 4, 2007 in Dodd, Chris, Vote 2008: Democrats | Permalink | User Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)