Dodd taps Wall Street money for re-election

WASHINGTON — Wealthy Wall Street executives may be outcasts to some Americans, but not to Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd.

Facing his toughest re-election fight, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee is reaching out to the financial sector's deep-pocketed donors for the campaign cash he needs to hang onto his Connecticut seat.

It's a practice that worked for Dodd in the past as millions flowed in and the five-term lawmaker cruised to victory. Down in the polls and looking at a tough Republican challenge next year, Dodd again is turning to the financial industry for campaign money, undeterred by the populist Main Street anger.

More than $100,000 of the $1 million Dodd raised in the first three months of this year came from political action committees for the financial, insurance and real estate industries, according to his latest fundraising report. Among his donors were PACs for the American Insurance Association, Mortgage Bankers Association, Vanguard, Oppenheimer Funds, Charles Schwab, Real Estate Roundtable and Ameriprise Financial.

Dodd raised $608,995 from individuals, among them top executives from companies such as Fidelity, Citigroup and Citizens Financial Group. His take from Connecticut residents was $4,250, an especially anemic display of political enthusiasm for the state's senior senator.

Dodd long has been a financial industry favorite, partly due to his powerful banking panel chairmanship and partly due to many of his constituents ties to Wall Street. Scores of hedge fund managers call Greenwich, Conn., home. The finance, insurance and real estate sectors have given Dodd $13.2 million from 1989 through 2008, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan watchdog group.

In recent months, the twists and turns of American International Group Inc., have created major headaches for Dodd.

He was skewered in the public furor over $165 million in executive bonuses for the bailed-out insurance giant. After first denying it, Dodd acknowledged that he agreed to a request by Treasury Department officials to dilute a bonus restriction in the economic stimulus bill. His approval rating sank to a career-low 33 percent in a recent Quinnipiac University poll.

Critics pointed to Dodd as the top recipient of AIG-related contributions. He took $281,038 from employees, family members and the firm's fundraising arm since 1989, according to the Center.

The special interest cash leaves Dodd vulnerable to charges that he's too cozy with the very people he's supposed to regulate, the same crowd many blame for the financial meltdown. It's a problem lawmakers who rely on Wall Street campaign cash face as Congress tackles a sweeping financial regulation overhaul.