U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd from Connecticut will announce today that he is not a candidate for re-election this year. Dodd’s announcement takes away the potential for a Republiucan victory in Democratic Connecticut, as his poll numbers have shown him to be very vulnerable to a challenger. It could clear the way for popular Democratic Attorney General Richard Blumenthal to take on the Republican nominee in November.

In North Dakota Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan announced he would not seek re-election, avoiding a potentially bruising battle with popular Republican Governor John Hoeven, who had been undecided about the race. Hoeven will likely now take the plunge with an open seat available. In light of that Democratic prospects for holding that seat are pretty slim.

The Dems are playing defense, with an out all Republican assault on the Obama Administration playing well in red states, making the task of holding those House and Senate seats for incumbent Dems an uphill fight.