1. One of the first Republican members of Congress to express concerns about President Richard Nixon's role in the Watergate scandal, Lowell Weicker developed a reputation as a "Rockefeller Republican", eventually leading conservative activists to endorse his opponent Joe Lieberman, a New Democrat, in the 1988 Senate election which he subsequently lost.
Lowell Weicker later left the Republican Party, and became one of the few third-party candidates to be elected to a state governorship in the United States at the time, doing so on the ticket of A Connecticut Party.
Lowell Weicker graduated from the Lawrenceville School, Yale University, and the University of Virginia School of Law.
Lowell Weicker began his political career after serving in the United States Army between 1953 and 1955, reaching the rank of first lieutenant.
Lowell Weicker served in the Connecticut State House of Representatives from 1963 to 1969 and as First Selectman of Greenwich, Connecticut, before winning election to the US House of Representatives, in 1968 as a Republican.
Lowell Weicker only served one term in the House before being elected to the US Senate in 1970.
Lowell Weicker benefited from a split in the Democratic Party in that election: two-term incumbent Thomas Dodd ran as an independent after losing the Democratic nomination to Joseph Duffey.
Lowell Weicker served in the US Senate for three terms, from 1971 to 1989.
Lowell Weicker gained national attention for his service on the Senate Watergate Committee, where he became the first Republican senator to call for Richard Nixon's resignation.
Lowell Weicker was a liberal voice in an increasingly conservative Republican Party.
Lowell Weicker voted against the nomination of William Rehnquist as Chief Justice of the United States, as well as the nomination of Robert Bork to the US Supreme Court.
Lowell Weicker was a strong advocate for the rights of the disabled during his tenure in Congress, although he ultimately lost his seat before the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 passed.
In later interviews, Lowell Weicker identified his work on the Americans with Disabilities Act, funding the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, increasing the funding for the National Institutes of Health, and funding research into AZT as his proudest achievements in the Senate.
Lowell Weicker initially campaigned on a platform of solving Connecticut's fiscal crisis without implementing an income tax.
Lowell Weicker lost Fairfield and New Haven County counties to Rowland, but won eastern Connecticut, drawing especially strong support from the Hartford metro area, where he had been strongly endorsed by the Hartford Courant and by many state employee labor unions.
The Los Angeles Times wrote that support from Democrats was credited for Lowell Weicker's victory, reflected in Morrison's third-place finish.
Lowell Weicker earned lasting criticism for his implementation of the income tax; the conservative Yankee Institute claimed in August 2006 that after fifteen years the income tax had failed to achieve its stated goals.
Lowell Weicker expressed sympathy for the budget struggles of Governor Dannel Malloy, drawing a parallel with his own efforts to remedy a fiscal crisis.
Lowell Weicker published a memoir entitled Maverick in 1995, co-written with Barry Sussman.
From 2003 on Lowell Weicker served on the board of Medallion Financial Corp.
Lowell Weicker considered a rematch against Senator Joe Lieberman in 2006.
In 2015, despite criticizing Cuba for its lack of "human rights and democratic elections", Lowell Weicker described the country's free healthcare system as one of its most positive aspects.
Lowell Weicker had served with Biden in the US Senate for 16 years.
Lowell Weicker lived in Old Lyme, Connecticut, in his later years.
Lowell Weicker was married three times and had five sons.