Democrat Chris Dodd retiring from Senate

HARTFORD, Conn - Christopher Dodd was expected to announce his retirement Wednesday after five terms in the U.S. Senate and Connecticut's popular attorney general said he will be entering the race to replace him.

Dodd, 66, was expected to make an announcement Wednesday and scheduled a noon news conference at his home in East Haddam. Democratic officials, speaking only on condition of anonymity ahead of the announcement, disclosed his plans to The Associated Press early Wednesday.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal told The Associated Press that he will be announcing his candidacy Wednesday afternoon. WTNH-TV first reported Blumenthal's plans.

Blumenthal, 63, has been attorney general since 1990, but said he has had his eye on the Senate for years.

"The United States Senate has been a longtime public service goal, and I would be proud and honored to have the opportunity to serve the people of Connecticut ... in the Senate," Blumenthal said.

Dodd's political stock began falling after the financial meltdown and his failed 2008 presidential bid.

He is chairman of Senate Banking Committee, which was at the center of efforts to deal with the economic meltdown. And he has played a prominent role in the debate over overhauling health care, taking over for his friend Ted Kennedy during his illness and then after his death.

Two of the three Republicans running for Dodd's seat said Dodd's decision to drop out of the race won't hurt their chances.

"Whoever the Democratic nominee is, he or she will have to defend the failed Democratic policies of higher taxes, bigger government, exploding debt, and a misguided approach to national security," said former GOP Congressman Rob Simmons, who had been ahead of Dodd in the polls.

Republican candidate Linda McMahon, the former chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment, said Dodd's leaving the race doesn't change anything for her.

A message was left Wednesday for a spokesman for Peter Schiff, the third GOP candidate for Dodd's seat.

Blumenthal, a former Marine who lives in Greenwich with his wife and four children, was U.S. attorney for Connecticut from 1977 to 1981, served in the state House of Representatives from 1984 to 1987 and served in the state Senate from 1987 to 1990.

A graduate of Harvard and Yale's law school, Blumenthal was a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun. He also served as an administrative assistant to former Connecticut Sen. Abraham Ribicoff, and was an aide to former New York Sen. Daniel Moynihan, when Moynihan was assistant to the president.

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Associated Press writer Liz Sidoti in Washington contributed to this report.