HARTFORD (11/03/04) -- U.S. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd -- after trouncing the Republican novice who sought to deny him a fifth term -- today finds himself one of the most likely candidates to become the new Senate Democratic leader.
Moreover, Dodd's relatively generous disbursement of at least $234,000 in campaign contributions to key party committees and Senate candidates, including 11 re-elected incumbents and two newly-elected Democrats, may prove to have been a timely investment in his own political future.