Bankers still underwrite Sen. Dodd

HARTFORD, Conn., April 17 (UPI) -- U.S. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn., has a healthy war chest, thanks to contributions from financial services firms, documents show.

Dodd has reported $1.05 million in contributions for the first quarter of 2009, The Hartford (Conn.) Courant said Thursday. That gives him $1.4 million in cash for the 2010 election.

Two Republicans recently announced they plan to seek the GOP nomination to run against Dodd. State Sen. Sam S.F. Caligiuri and former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons have done little fundraising so far, with Caligiuri reporting $36,000 cash on hand after raising $45,000, mostly from individuals, the newspaper said.

One notable former Dodd donor -- insurance giant American International Group Inc. -- was missing from his recent report. Dodd came under fire when news broke that AIG had paid large bonuses while receiving billions of dollars in federal aid.

Dodd has also benefited from labor union political action committees, filings indicate.