Democratic Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut abandoned his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday after a poor showing in Iowa’s precinct caucuses.

“Tonight I am withdrawing from the presidential race, but let me assure you, we are not ending this race with our heads hanging, but our heads held high,” Dodd said.

Dodd was introduced by the president of the International Association of Fire Fighters and ear-piercing screams and applause from Dodd’s supporters.

“Although we came up short in the race tonight, our campaign set the goal standard in this race,” Dodd said in his speech. “We tried.”

People leaving the Temple for Performing Arts in Des Moines after the senator’s speech were talking about how they were proud to be Dodd supporters and that they believed he would go on to do great things.

“We should hold our heads very, very high. This was a great effort,” Dodd concluded as the crowd roared from the large Grand Hall. Dodd gave props to his wife calling her “something else. Elegant and always a person who could bring so much to our campaign.”

Iowa Democratic Veteran’s Caucus Chairman Bob Krause personally endorsed Dodd for President on New Year’s Day, 2008.

“While we do have an excellent field of candidates, I’m caucusing for Chris Dodd because I trust him more than any other candidate to lead the nation when the unexpected occurs and to deliver results for his fellow veterans,” Krause said.

The youngest of the Dodd supporters in Des Moines was 3-month-old Sydney Thompson of Des Moines. She came to show her support decked out in “Dodd for President 2008” stickers and an ISU Cyclones bib. Sydney’s parents, Jon and Sandy Thompson, have been long-time Dodd supporters.

“We just came up from two blocks away,” Sandy said. “We’ve been long time supporters of Senator Dodd.”

Even before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Chris recognized the importance of America’s first responders, authoring and passing landmark legislation that has provided more than $3 billion to help towns and cities hire, equip and train firefighters. When the 281,000-member IAFF set out to make a Presidential endorsement, the one criterion they considered was the one they were looking for when putting their lives on the line in their communities: Who can they trust to keep their team secure?

“Fire fighters want strong, proven leadership walking through that door. In 2008, we want Chris Dodd,” said IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger.

A longtime supporter of early childhood education, he also authored and enacted landmark child care legislation, was named “Senator of the Decade” by the National Head Start Association and has secured funding for federal research into autism and outreach efforts aimed at mothers who give birth prematurely.

Laura Stokes, of Avoca, is a volunteer for the campaign and strong supporter of Senator Dodd.

“Senator Dodd has helped my family with all the legislation that he has helped pass,” Stokes said. “Without the funding for the research and outreach efforts, my baby would be dead.”

Stokes said that when she was pregnant with her now-18-month-old daughter, she was told by the medical staff that her baby was going to be stillborn and because of lack of funding, there was nothing that could be done.

“With that funding, I have a happy, healthy baby girl,” Stokes said. “Chris and his wife even sent her Christmas presents this year.”

Gordon Rowe, of Des Moines ,who has been caucusing for “at least 16 years,” said he became a Democrat when Ronald Reagan was elected governor of California and took the education budget and gave it to the military. Rowe was a teacher at the time and saw what that did to the education system firsthand.

“We went from not needing to not having,” Rowe said.

Rowe was one of the more colorful people at the Dodd’s Caucus for a Reason in Des Moines, wearing a blue T-shirt that read: “Iowa. Our caucus is bigger, better and comes before New Hampshire” and a baseball cap with 35 presidential hopefuls and caucus buttons dating back to Roosevelt.

Today Senator Dodd lives in East Haddam, Conn., with his wife Jackie and their two young daughters: Grace and Christina.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.