 In 1938, at age 32, Dodd sought the Democratic nomination for Virginia's 8th congressional district, which was directly across the Potomac River from Washington.The seat was held by four-term incumbent Howard W. Smith, a conservative Democrat on the United States House Committee on Rules who used his position to obstruct parts of the Roosevelt Administration's New Deal agenda.Smith was also a powerful lieutenant in the Byrd Organization, led by U.S.