Christopher J. Dodd

Christopher Dodd (D-CT) is a second-generation Connecticut senator (his father Thomas held the office throughout the 1960s). He started his career in public service in the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic during the late 1960s, gaining fluency in Spanish. Also a result of lessons learned in the Peace Corps, Dodd has emphasized the importance of national service, making an “American Community Initiative” a key part of his platform.

Dodd is the only Democratic candidate to have spent time in the military, with stints in the Army Reserves and National Guard. He served in the House of Representatives for five years before his 1980 election to the Senate. He has been a rare voice in Congress focusing on Latin American politics, at times taking positions unpopular in Washington, such as his advocacy for an end to the U.S. embargo on Cuba. He chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps, and Narcotics.

Dodd has made pointed foreign policy critiques of his fellow candidates and the Bush administration throughout the campaign. Though he voted for the invasion of Iraq in 2002, Dodd has attacked front-running Democratic candidates for refusing to pledge to remove U.S. troops from Iraq by 2013.

Dodd withdrew his candidacy in January 2008. In February 2008, Dodd endorsed Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) for the Democratic nomination.