Poll Shows Dodd Gaining

On Simmons In Senate Race

HARTFORD (AP) — Connecticut US Sen Christopher Dodd still trails one of his potential Republican challengers, but a new poll released Wednesday indicates he is starting to gain on former US Rep Rob Simmons.

The latest Quinnipiac University Poll, conducted between May 20 and May 25, shows Simmons garnering 45 percent of the vote, compared to Dodd’s 39 percent, in the 2010 election.

That’s an improvement for Dodd when compared to an April 2 Quinnipiac poll, when Simmons had 50 percent of the vote compared to Dodd’s 34 percent. That poll was conducted immediately after news broke about Dodd’s role in the recent flap over $165 million in bonuses that American International Group Inc paid some of its employees while receiving billions in federal bailout money.

Dodd, who is up for re-election in 2010, is also under investigation by a Senate ethics panel for mortgages he got from Countrywide Financial Corp, which is at the center of the mortgage crisis.

This latest survey of 1,575 registered voters shows Dodd leading another possible Republican challenger, state Sen Sam Caligiuri, 41 percent to 39 percent.

Dodd also leads Merrick Alpert, 44 percent to 24 percent, in a Democratic primary. Alpert, a businessman and former Air Force officer, announced last week he planned to challenge Connecticut’s senior senator.

The survey has 2.5 percentage point margin of error.