OFFICE AVAILABLE, FULL MEDICAL PLAN – AT 8:03 A.M. ET:  A second Democratic senator, up for reelection, has chosen to retire.

Yesterday it was Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, running far behind in the polls, who announced he would not seek reelection in 2010.  Today, it is one of the most powerful men in the Senate.  From The Politico:

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) plans to announce Wednesday that he will retire from the Senate at the end of the year, capping a 30-year career where he rose to become one of the chamber's most influential members, several Democratic sources told POLITICO Tuesday night.

Dodd’s decision to retire is, at first glance, a blessing to Senate Democrats who worried they would have trouble holding the seat with the embattled senator in the race. Now Democrats expect that Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal will run in Dodd’s place, giving the party a stronger nominee in a race that was widely believed to be a toss-up.

Blumenthal, it is reported, will announce his candidacy today, before the corpse is even buried. 

The Dorgan retirement in North Dakota provides Republicans with an excellent chance for a pickup.  But it would be crazy for the GOP to write Connecticut off.  Yes, it's a blue state, and Blumenthal is popular.  But Connecticut also reelected Joe Lieberman, a moderate, after he'd lost the Democratic nomination to a leftist insurgent.  A moderate Republican, a Rudy Giuliani, could give Blumenthal a run for his money in a state where political surprises are fairly frequent.

Next door, in blue Massachusetts, the Republican challenger is only nine points behind the Democrat in the special election, to be held January 19th, to succeed Edward M. Kennedy.  This is a time for Republicans to fight.

We also learn that the Democratic governor of Colorado, Bill Ritter, will announce that he, too, will not run for reelection.  Another great GOP opportunity.

January 6,  2009