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Former member of Congress · last served 111th Congress

Official portrait of Sen. Christopher J. Dodd

Christopher J. Dodd

DEMOCRAT U.S. Senator · ConnecticutSenate 1981–2011 · House 1975–1981 (CT-2)

Christopher Dodd was a Democratic U.S. senator from Connecticut, first elected to Congress in 1975, who sponsored 22 bills that became law (100th–111th Congress).

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617Bills & resolutions sponsored100th–111th Congress (excludes amendments)
107Passed a chamberof 617 bills & resolutions sponsored
22Became law21 substantive + 0 ceremonial + 1 private · 100th–111th Congress
—Broke with partyNo roll calls in PORKER’s records (they start in 2011)
—Missed votesNo roll calls in PORKER’s records (they start in 2011)
—Pork: own shareFY2024 earmarks: not in office

How we count: “Broke with party” is a yes/no roll call where the member voted against most of their own party on that vote (party as recorded; even splits not counted). “Pork: own share” splits each earmark shared by several members evenly among them.

Recent votes

No recorded roll-call votes in PORKER’s records. Roll-call records start in 2011.

5 most recent bills

Top bills sponsored

Laws first, then bills that passed a chamber, were reported from committee, or drew the most cosponsors.

Elections Sen. Dodd has won

Sen. Dodd has won 2 U.S. House elections (1976–1978) and 5 U.S. Senate elections (1980, 1986, 1992, 1998, 2004). Of the contested races, margins ran from 13.4 to 39.8 points.

010204060Margin of victory, points (axis starts at 0)1976, CT-2: won by 31.0 points1976CT-21978, CT-2: won by 39.8 points19781980, CT Senate: won by 13.4 points1980CT Senate1986, CT Senate: won by 29.9 points19861992, CT Senate: won by 20.7 points19921998, CT Senate: won by 32.8 points19982004, CT Senate: won by 34.2 points2004
Democratic winRepublican winseat changed partyunopposed
Elections won7 in the data (1976–2024); losses are not listed
Closest win: 13.4 points1980, CT Senate
Won an open seat or took one from the other party1 of 7 elections (open seat or changed party)
Seat history, Connecticut’s 2nd districtWinners, most recent three: Sam Gejdenson (D) 1980–1998 → Robert Simmons (R) 2000–2004 → Joe Courtney (D) 2006–2024. Elections shown, not terms; special elections not included.
Seat history, Connecticut Senate (class 3)Winners in regular elections, most recent three: Christopher Dodd (D) 1980–2004 → Richard Blumenthal (D) 2010–2016. The seat is next on the ballot in 2028.

Full election history for this seat →

Source: MIT Election Data and Science Lab, U.S. House V15 / U.S. Senate V8 (CC0), retrieved 2026-10-18; winners matched to member records by seat and term. Results run through the 2024 elections; nothing from 2026 is shown until it is certified. A margin is a fact about one election, never a score of how well a member represents anyone, and PORKER does not rank members by it.

How has Connecticut done while Sen. Dodd served?

2005 to 2010 in Connecticut: typical household income was down 6% after inflation, the share of people below the poverty line was up 1.8 points, and the share of workers looking for a job was up 4.2 points.

Typical household income · after inflationConnecticut $92.6KU.S. $72.4K
Connecticut: $98.4K in 2005 → $92.6K in 2010
Connecticut down 6%U.S. down 3%
Share of people below the poverty lineU.S. 15.3%Connecticut 10.1%
Connecticut: 8.3% in 2005 → 10.1% in 2010
Connecticut up 1.8 pointsU.S. up 2.0 points
Share of workers looking for a jobU.S. 10.8%Connecticut 10.5%
Connecticut: 6.3% in 2005 → 10.5% in 2010
Connecticut up 4.2 pointsU.S. up 3.9 points

Each mini chart has its own scale, fitted to its lines (it does not start at zero), so compare the numbers, not the heights. Oxblood = state, grey = U.S.

While they served, not because of them. This shows what happened in Connecticut during Dodd’s time representing it (1981 to 2011). It does not say what the member did or caused. It is not a score, and PORKER never ranks members on it.

Survey years start at 2005. The yearly estimates for Connecticut begin in 2005, so 1981 to 2004 are not shown. No 2020 yearly estimate exists.

See the full 20-year record →Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates (tables B19013, B17001, B23001) and BLS CPI-U-RS for inflation, retrieved October 18, 2026. “About the same” means the change is inside the 90% margins of error. Who held the seat: Congress.gov member service records, year level.

Official records on bills this member sponsored

111th Congress. What Congress.gov lists for the 81 bills sponsored.

RecordBillsSource
Bills sponsored81Source: Congress.gov member record, PORKER copy of October 26, 2026 ↗ See them →
With a CBO cost estimate listed12See the 12 →
With a committee report listed10See the 10 →
With a Congress.gov note6See the 6 →
Evidence
How counted
Bills where this member is the lead (first-listed) sponsor in the 111th Congress, read from the stored Congress.gov bill records
Fields
cboCostEstimates, committeeReports, constitutionalAuthorityStatementText, notes
PORKER copy refreshed
October 26, 2026 (nightly)

Read this first. These are counts of records Congress.gov lists. Many bills never get a CBO estimate or a report, so a zero is not a mark against a member. We never show this as a score.

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Data as of Oct 26, 2026 · Sources: Congress.gov, Senate.gov, House Clerk, Appropriations Committee earmark tables. PORKER is non-partisan.