On Wednesday January 6, 2010 Senator Christopher J. Dodd, a Democrat from Connecticut, announced that he will not be running for reelection in the 2010 midterm election. Dodd's retirement plans were revealed soon after Sen. Byron Dorgan, a Dem from North Dakota, unexpectedly declared that he would be stepping down from his position in the Senate thus making way for Republicans to gain seats and bring an end to the current Dem 60-vote majority.