Christopher John Dodd (born May 27, 1944), is an American politician. Dodd, a Democrat, has been a U.S. Senator from Connecticut since 1981. He is the son of former Senator Thomas J. Dodd, also from Connecticut, who was censured by the Senate for financial misconduct in 1967.

Biography

Dodd's supporters dress in yellow, his campaign color. They are collectively referred to as "the Dodd Squad."

Dodd was born in Willimantic, Connecticut. His parents were Thomas Joseph Dodd and Grace Murphy Dodd. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in English Literature from Providence College in 1966, Dodd served as a Peace Corps volunteer in a small rural town in the Dominican Republic until 1968. After leaving the peace corps, Dodd joined U.S. Army Reserve, where he would stay until 1975. In 1972, Dodd graduated from law school at the University of Louisville. The following year, he was admitted to Connecticut bar, and began practicing law in New London.

In 1974, Dodd was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut's second congressional district. He was reelected twice, serving from January 3, 1975 to January 3, 1981. In November 1980, Dodd was elected to the U.S. Senate, and was subsequently reelected in 1986, 1992, and 1998. Dodd was easily reelected in the November 2004 election.

Dodd lives in East Haddam when Congress is not in session, is fluent in Spanish, and is a Roman Catholic. His wife is Jackie Marie Clegg. She held high posts at the Export_Import Bank of the United States. The couple's daughter is named Grace, and they are expecting another child.

Dodd has recently been rumored to be strongly considering a run for Governor of Connecticut in 2006. Dodd is the first Senator from Connecticut to serve five consecutive terms.

He was considered a possible candidate for replacing Tom Daschle as Senate Minority Leader in 109th Congress, but he declined, and that position was instead filled by Harry Reid.

External links

• Senate office website (http://dodd.senate.gov/)
• 2004 reelection website (http://www.chrisdodd.com/main.cfm)
• Peace Corps biography of Chris Dodd (http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/467/2020872.html)

Informational

• Project Vote_Smart profile (http://www.vote_smart.org/bio.php?can-id=S0131103)
  • Detailed voting record (http://www.vote_smart.org/voting-category.php?can-id=S0131103&PHPSESSID=83b8d73cb56d5a6908bd46bd5d2ff9e3)
  • Speeches and public statements (http://www.vote_smart.org/speech.php?can-id=S0131103)
  • Interest group ratings (http://www.vote_smart.org/speech.php?can-id=S0131103)