Associated Press - November 24, 2009 2:14 PM ET

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd could soon have a couple fewer opponents.

Republican candidate Sam Caligiuri (cal-ih-JEER'-ee), a state senator from Waterbury announced Tuesday he's withdrawing from the Senate race to challenge 5th District Rep. Chris Murphy.

Also Tuesday, Tom Foley, a Greenwich businessman and a former U.S. ambassador to Ireland, says he'll decide next week whether to end his bid for the Republican nomination for Senate and switch to the governor's race.

Foley says a number of people have urged him to run for governor after Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell announced she would not seek re-election.

A spokeswoman for the Connecticut Democrats says Republicans are beginning to realize Dodd "may not seem like such an easy picking."

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