Before U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd made his formal announcement on Wednesday afternoon that he will not seek re-election, he was on the phone with the president.
President Barack Obama had made the trip to Connecticut to help the senior senator from Connecticut hold onto his seat. Vice President Joe Biden had also made the trip.
The White House says the president told the outgoing senator he was honored to work with him and would do whatever he could to help Dodd moving forward.
As Dodd was publicly ending his run to stay in Washington, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal was starting to work on his own bid.
By evening, he too would be taking a phone call from President Obama. He was in the NBC Connecticut newsroom for an on-air interview when he got the call.
“The President of the United States called,” he told NBC Connecticut’s Gerry Brooks. “It doesn’t happen everyday, but in your studio, at this very place, I received a call from the President of the United States. I was very honored.”
Blumenthal did not go into great detail about what Obama said.
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“He was very encouraging and supportive. Without going into all of the details, he wished me well and I look forward to the continuing battle ahead with support from many, many friends in Connecticut,” he said.
The White House says Obama called Blumenthal on Wednesday evening and offered to help him with the campaign to succeed Sen. Chris Dodd, the Associated Press reports.
