Sen. Christopher J. Dodd's stepped-up outreach at home does not seem to have helped him thus far with Connecticut voters. The Democrat's approval ratings sunk even further in a new Quinnipiac University poll conducted March 26-31.
Voters disapprove of Democrat's job performance by a margin of 58 to 33 percent. That is up from 49 percent disapproval in a poll released March 10. At that time, 44 percent approved of Dodd's job performance. A majority of Connecticut voters - 54 percent - also said they did not think the senator is honest and trustworthy.
The Quinnipiac poll also shows Dodd trailing all three potential Republican challengers in hypothetical match-ups, with vote percentages only in the 30s and Democratic support in the low 60s.
Former Rep. Rob Simmons leads Dodd 50 to 34 percent and state Sen. Sam Caligiuri leads Dodd 41 to 37 percent. Both men have declared they will run in 2010.
A third likely Republican candidate, former ambassador to Ireland and fundraiser for President George W. Bush, Thomas C. Foley, also lead Dodd 43 to 35 percent.
Dodd's popularity at home has plummeted since last summer, thanks to a series of scandals related to real estate deals and his ties to the financial industry.
Most recently, he came under fire for his role in the AIG bonus scandal -- Dodd authored the amendment in the stimulus bill on executive compensation that was then modified to exempt existing bonuses, such as the $165 million paid out by the insurance giant.
He has since begun conducting a series of events with voters around the state in an attempt to shore up support.
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