Dodd, Clinton win union endorsements

WASHINGTON – Democrat Chris Dodd has earned the backing of the International Association of Fire Fighters, a major coup for the presidential hopeful, while Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton secured the endorsement Tuesday of the United Transportation Union.

The Dodd endorsement is the more surprising of the two, with the Connecticut senator lagging behind better-known rivals Clinton, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and John Edwards in the latest polls.

The firefighters’ executive board will officially vote and endorse Dodd today.

In 2003, the 281,000-member union backed Democratic Sen. John Kerry, a boost to his then-moribund campaign that helped him secure the 2004 party nomination, and its backing of Dodd is certain to improve his standing.

Clinton got the endorsement of the 125,000-member United Transportation Union.

“The UTU has a long history of picking winners early. Hillary will be a president that America’s working families can count on. Time and again, as a United States senator, she has stood with us,” UTU President Paul Thompson said.

In other campaign news, the Federal Election Commission said Tuesday that Republican John McCain is eligible to receive public financing for his struggling bid.

The Arizona senator quietly requested authority to receive matching funds Aug. 10, but his campaign said he has not decided whether he would ultimately accept the money.

Doing so would put him at a major disadvantage against well-funded rivals Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney, who are likely to forgo public financing and, thus, free themselves from spending limits.

The FEC decision merely means that McCain has met the requirements to receive some amount of money. He is the first 2008 presidential candidate to be declared eligible to receive matching funds.