Lowell Weicker, Maverick Connecticut Senator and Governor, Dies at 92, Leaving a Legacy of Political Courage

Lowell P. Weicker Jr., a liberal Republican known for his fierce criticism of President Nixon during the Watergate hearings, has died at the age of 92. Weicker, who served as a U.S. senator and later as governor of Connecticut, was admired for his political independence and willingness to challenge authority. He founded a third party and took office as an independent governor, pushing through the creation of an income tax despite lacking support from his own party. Weicker's politics often made him an outsider, and he was a vocal opponent of the increasing power of the Christian right within the Republican Party. He endorsed Barack Obama in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections and criticized Donald Trump as a "total con artist."