Editing Lowell Weicker

{{Short description|American politician (1931–2023)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name            = Lowell Weicker
|image           = File:Lweicker.jpg
|order           = 85th
|office          = Governor of Connecticut
|lieutenant      = [[Eunice Groark]]
|term_start      = January 9, 1991
|term_end        = January 4, 1995
|predecessor     = [[William O'Neill (Connecticut politician)|William O'Neill]]
|successor       = [[John G. Rowland|John Rowland]]
|jr/sr1          = United States Senator
|state1          = [[Connecticut]]
|term_start1     = January 3, 1971
|term_end1       = January 3, 1989
|predecessor1    = [[Thomas J. Dodd]]
|successor1      = [[Joe Lieberman]]
|state2          = Connecticut
|district2       = {{ushr|CT|4|4th}}
|term_start2     = January 3, 1969
|term_end2       = January 3, 1971
|predecessor2    = [[Donald J. Irwin]]
|successor2      = [[Stewart McKinney (politician)|Stewart McKinney]]
|state_house3    = Connecticut
|district3       = 154th
|term_start3     = January 1963
|term_end3       = January 1969
|predecessor3    = ''Multi-member district''
|successor3      = Robert D. Rogers
|office4         = [[First Selectman]] of [[Greenwich, Connecticut|Greenwich]]
|term_start4     = 1964
|term_end4       = 1968
|predecessor4    = Griffith Harris
|successor4      = John Taintor
|birth_name      = Lowell Palmer Weicker Jr.
|birth_date      = {{birth date|1931|5|16}}
|birth_place     = [[Paris]], [[French Third Republic|France]]
|death_date      = {{death date and age|2023|6|28|1931|5|16}}
|death_place     = [[Middletown, Connecticut]], U.S.
|nationality     = American
|party           = {{ubl|[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] (before 1990)|[[A Connecticut Party]] (1990–1995)|[[Independent (politician)|Independent]] (from 1995)}}
|otherparty      = 
|spouse          = {{ubl|{{marriage|Marie-Louise Godfrey|June 13, 1953|1977|end=div}}|{{marriage|Camille DiLorenzo Butler|November 5, 1977 |1984|end=div}}|{{marriage|Claudia Testa Ingram|1984}}}}
|education       = {{ubl|[[Yale University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])|[[University of Virginia]] ([[Juris Doctor|JD]])}}
|children        = 5
|signature       = Lowell P. Weicker signature.png
|allegiance      = <!-- United States -->
|branch          = [[United States Army]]
|serviceyears    = {{ubl|1953–1955 (active)|1959–1964 (reserve)}}
|rank            = [[First lieutenant]]
}}

'''Lowell Palmer Weicker Jr.''' ({{IPAc-en|w|aɪ|k|ər}}; May 16, 1931 – June 28, 2023) was an American politician who served as a [[U.S. Representative]], [[U.S. Senator]], and the 85th [[Governor of Connecticut]].

Weicker unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for president in [[1980 United States presidential election|1980]]. One of the first Republican members of Congress to express concerns about President [[Richard Nixon]]'s role in the [[Watergate scandal]], Weicker developed a reputation as a "[[Rockefeller Republican]]", eventually leading conservative activists to endorse his opponent [[Joe Lieberman]], a [[New Democrats (United States)|New Democrat]], in the [[1988 United States Senate election in Connecticut|1988 Senate election]] which he subsequently lost. Weicker later left the Republican Party, and became one of the few [[Third party (U.S. politics)|third-party]] candidates to be [[List of third party performances in United States gubernatorial elections|elected]] to a state [[Governor (United States)|governorship]] in the United States at the time, doing so on the ticket of [[A Connecticut Party]].

==Early life==
Weicker was born in Paris, the son of American parents Mary Hastings (née Bickford) and Lowell Palmer Weicker.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newenglandancestors.org/research/services/articles_gbr63.asp |access-date=December 23, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114071447/http://www.newenglandancestors.org/research/services/articles_gbr63.asp |archive-date=January 14, 2009 |title=NEHGS – Articles }}</ref> His grandfather Theodore Weicker was a German immigrant who co-founded the [[E. R. Squibb]] corporation.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/27/nyregion/weicker-honeymoon-over-as-governor-s-race-heats-up.html|work=The New York Times|title=Weicker Honeymoon Over as Governor's Race Heats Up|first=Nick|last=Ravo|date=August 27, 1990|access-date=May 11, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.scs.illinois.edu/~mainzv/HIST/bulletin_open_access/v25-1/v25-1%20p1-9.pdf | title=Merck in America: the first 70 years from fine chemicals to pharmaceutical giant | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921074336/http://www.scs.illinois.edu/~mainzv/HIST/bulletin_open_access/v25-1/v25-1%20p1-9.pdf | archive-date=2018-09-21}}</ref> Weicker graduated from the [[Lawrenceville School]] (class of 1949), [[Yale University]] (1953), and the [[University of Virginia School of Law]] (1958).<ref>[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=w000253 Lowell Palmer Weicker Jr.], ''[[Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]]''. Accessed December 16, 2007.</ref>  He began his political career after serving in the [[United States Army]] between 1953 and 1955, reaching the rank of [[first lieutenant]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/32244545/?terms=%22weicker%22%2Band%2B%22lieutenant%22%2Band%2B%221953%22%2Band%2B%22army%22|title=Weicker Formally Enters Congress Race in Fourth|date=December 1, 1967|work=The Bridgeport Telegram|access-date=September 20, 2018|url-access=subscription |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

==Career in Congress==
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 [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]], in 1968 as a Republican. Weicker only served one term in the House before being elected to the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] in [[1970 United States Senate election in Connecticut|1970]].<ref name = Johnson>{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/28/us/politics/lowell-weicker-dead.html|title = Lowell Weicker, 92, Maverick Connecticut Senator and Governor, Dies|date = June 29, 2023|accessdate = June 29, 2023|newspaper = [[The New York Times]]|page = A20|last = Johnson|first = Kirk|url-access = limited|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Stewart |first=Doug |date=June 28, 2023 |title=Former Connecticut Gov. Lowell Weicker dies at 92 |url=https://www.fox61.com/article/news/local/former-connecticut-gov-lowell-weicker-dies-92-obit/520-276d04ab-bc58-4149-b45d-e78c237b5d66 |access-date=June 28, 2023 |website=[[WTIC-TV]] |language=en-US}}</ref> Weicker benefited from a split in the Democratic Party in that election: two-term incumbent [[Thomas J. Dodd|Thomas Dodd]] ran as an independent after losing the Democratic nomination to [[Joseph Duffey]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bumiller |first=Elisabeth |date=September 24, 2007 |title=Dodd's Other Campaign: Restoring Dad's Reputation |language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/24/us/politics/24dodd.html |access-date=June 28, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Ultimately, Weicker won with 41.7 percent of the vote. Dodd finished third, with 266,500 votes—far exceeding Weicker's 86,600-vote margin over Duffey.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 7, 1970 |title=An Unrepresented Majority |pages=4 |work=[[The Des Moines Register]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-des-moines-register-an-unrepresented/127257928/ |access-date=June 28, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=November 4, 1970 |title=Senate Contests |pages=2 |work=[[Globe Gazette]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/globe-gazette-senate-contests/127258000/ |access-date=June 28, 2023}}</ref>

Weicker served in the U.S. Senate for three terms, from 1971 to 1989. He 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.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-07-01-vw-1250-story.html|title=A Taxing Situation : Politics: Connecticut Gov. Lowell Weicker loves a challenge. He's facing his biggest one yet by proposing the state's first income tax to solve its budget mess.|last=Mehren|first=Elizabeth|date=July 1, 1991|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=June 18, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}</ref> He recalled: "People in Connecticut were very much behind President Nixon, like the rest of the country. They thought he could do no wrong, and when I was in Connecticut, I would get flipped the bird all the time, whether it was on the streets or in the car, for the role that I was playing. After Watergate was over, then the needle goes all the way the other way, and I've got huge favorability ratings."<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=http://www.connecticutmag.com/the-connecticut-story/final-say-lowell-weicker/article_ab8484fc-7415-5db3-960d-a0522442cab4.html|title=Final Say: Lowell Weicker|last=Bendici|first=Ray|date=August 1, 2012|work=Connecticut Magazine|access-date=June 18, 2017|language=en}}</ref> Proving this, Weicker was convincingly reelected in [[1976 United States Senate election in Connecticut|1976]].<ref>{{cite news | author=Susan Haigh | newspaper=Associated Press | date=June 28, 2023 | title=Lowell Weicker, Connecticut Senator, Governor, Dies | 
url=https://apnews.com/article/lowell-weicker-dies-connecticut-senator-governor-bace2d78074b260ef5676d6a2ea55b87}}</ref>

In 1980, he made an unsuccessful bid for the Republican nomination for president.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1964&dat=19790313&id=F_4sAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yM0FAAAAIBAJ&pg=1160,2395226 Weicker Opens Presidential Campaign]{{Dead link|date=December 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, March 13, 1979</ref>

Weicker was a liberal voice in an increasingly [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] Republican Party. For instance [[Americans for Democratic Action]] consistently rated Weicker as having a liberal quotient of 60 to 90% throughout his senate career, and in 1987 and in 1988 gave him a higher rating than Connecticut's other Senator, Democrat [[Chris Dodd]].<ref>Kornacki, Steve (January 19, 2011) [http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/01/18/joe_lieberman_origins/index.html The making (and unmaking) of Joe Lieberman] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629103517/http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/01/18/joe_lieberman_origins/index.html |date=June 29, 2011 }}, ''[[Salon (website)|Salon]]''</ref> He was critical of the increasing influence of the [[Christian right]] on the party; he described the [[separation of church and state]] as "this country's greatest contribution to world civilization",<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tJF38sUwEQMC&q=lowell+weicker+governor&pg=PT334|title=Independent Nation: How the Vital Center Is Changing American Politics|last=Avlon|first=John|date=February 24, 2004|publisher=Crown/Archetype|isbn=9781400080724|language=en}}</ref> and the party in 2012 as "swung off so far to the right that no moderate could've survived a primary."<ref name=":1" /> Weicker voted in favor of the [[Passage of Martin Luther King Jr. Day|bill]] establishing [[Martin Luther King Jr. Day]] as a [[Federal holidays in the United States|federal holiday]] and the [[Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987]] (as well as to override [[Ronald Reagan|President Reagan]]'s veto).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/98-1983/s293|title=TO PASS H.R. 3706. (MOTION PASSED) SEE NOTE(S) 19.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/100-1988/s432|title=TO PASS S 557, CIVIL RIGHTS RESTORATION ACT, A BILL TO RESTORE THE BROAD COVERAGE AND CLARIFY FOUR CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS BY PROVIDING THAT IF ONE PART OF AN INSTITUTION IS FEDERALLY FUNDED, THEN THE ENTIRE INSTITUTION MUST NOT DISCRIMINATE.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/100-1988/s487|title=TO ADOPT, OVER THE PRESIDENT'S VETO OF S 557, CIVIL RIGHTS RESTORATION ACT, A BILL TO RESTORE BROAD COVERAGE OF FOUR CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS BY DECLARING THAT IF ONE PART OF AN INSTITUTION RECEIVES FEDERAL FUNDS, THEN THE ENTIRE INSTITUTION MUST NOT DISCRIMINATE. TWO-THIRDS OF THE SENATE, HAVING VOTED IN THE AFFIRMATIVE, OVERRODE THE PRESIDENTIAL VETO.}}</ref> Weicker voted against the nomination of [[William Rehnquist#Chief Justice|William Rehnquist]] as [[Chief Justice of the United States]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Congressional Record—Senate|date=September 17, 1986|page=23803|publisher=[[United States Senate]]|url=https://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/266_1986.pdf|access-date=May 17, 2020}}</ref> as well as the [[Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination|nomination of Robert Bork]] to the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=October 23, 1987 |title=Senate Rejects Bork, 58–42 : Six Republicans Bolt Party Ranks to Oppose Judge |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-10-23-mn-10814-story.html |access-date=June 28, 2023 |website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mn.gov/mnddc/ada-legacy/ada-legacy-moment13.html|title=The ADA Legacy Project: Moments in Disability History 13: Lowell P. Weicker, Jr., Original "Father" of the Americans with Disabilities Act|first=The Minnesota Governor's Council on Developmental|last=Disabilities|website=mn.gov}}</ref> In later interviews, 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 [[Zidovudine|AZT]] as his proudest achievements in the Senate.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/A-Connecticut-political-maverick-turns-80-Lowell-1380692.php|title=A Connecticut political maverick turns 80: Lowell Weicker Jr.|last=Vigdor|first=Neil|date=May 15, 2011|work=[[The Advocate (Stamford)|The Advocate]]|access-date=June 18, 2017}}</ref><ref name=":1" />

Weicker's rocky relations with establishment Republicans may have roots in receiving strong support from Nixon in his 1970 Senate bid, support repaid in the eyes of his critics by a vehement attack on the White House while serving on the Watergate Committee.<ref name = Pazniokas>{{cite news|url = https://ctmirror.org/2023/06/28/lowell-weicker-dies-ct-governor-us-senator/|title = Lowell Weicker, Connecticut governor and U.S. senator, dies at 92|last = Pazniokas|first = Mark|date = June 28, 2023|accessdate = June 28, 2023|newspaper = [[The Connecticut Mirror]]}}</ref> Later, his relations with the [[Bush family]] also soured, and [[Prescott Bush Jr.]] (the brother of the then Vice President) made a short-lived bid against Weicker to gain the 1982 Republican Senate nomination.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/28/us/bush-abandons-connecticut-bid-for-senate-seat.html|title=BUSH ABANDONS CONNECTICUT BID FOR SENATE SEAT|first=Richard L.|last=Madden|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 28, 1982}}</ref> Weicker's well-known [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] sympathies increasingly alienated mainstream Republicans, particularly after Weicker’s effort to prevent the nomination of conservatives to state office, which resulted in a poor showing during the 1986 local elections, and he was defeated in the [[United States Senate election in Connecticut, 1988|1988 Senate election]] by [[Joe Lieberman]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> Lieberman benefited from the support of ''[[National Review]]'' founder [[William F. Buckley Jr.]], and his brother, former New York Senator [[James L. Buckley|James Buckley]]; William F. Buckley ran columns in support of Lieberman and circulated bumper stickers with the slogan, "Does Lowell Weicker Make You Sick?"<ref name=":2" />

<gallery widths="200px" heights="145px">
File:Ford A9158 NLGRF photo contact sheet (1976-04-08)(Gerald Ford Library) (cropped).jpg|Weicker greeting [[Gerald Ford]] in 1976
File:Reagan Contact Sheet C47040 (cropped).jpg|Weicker with [[Ronald Reagan]] in 1988
File:George H. W. Bush campaigns with Lowell Weicker.jpg|Weicker campaigning with [[George H. W. Bush]] in 1988
</gallery>

==Governor of Connecticut==
Weicker's political career appeared to be over after his 1988 defeat, and he became a professor at the [[George Washington University]] Law School. However, he entered the [[1990 Connecticut gubernatorial election|1990 gubernatorial election]] as the candidate of [[A Connecticut Party (1990)|A Connecticut Party]], running as a [[good government]] candidate<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VuMCAAAAMBAJ&q=lowell+weicker+governor&pg=PA12|title=Playing Favorites|last=Byron|first=Christopher|date=January 10, 1994|publisher=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|language=en}}</ref> and drew upon his coalition of liberal Republicans, moderate Democrats, and independent voters.<ref name=":2" /> The [[Early 1990s recession in the United States|early 1990s recession]] had hit Connecticut hard, worsened by the fall in revenues from traditional sources such as [[sales tax]] and [[corporation tax]].<ref name=":5">{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-07-01-vw-1250-story.html|title=A Taxing Situation : Politics: Connecticut Gov. Lowell Weicker loves a challenge. He's facing his biggest one yet by proposing the state's first income tax to solve its budget mess.|last=Mehren|first=Elizabeth|date=July 1, 1991|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=June 18, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}</ref> Connecticut politics had a tradition at the time of opposition to a state [[income tax]]—one had been implemented in 1971 but rescinded after six weeks under public pressure.<ref name=":6">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/23/nyregion/budget-is-passed-for-connecticut-with-income-tax.html|title=Budget Is Passed for Connecticut With Income Tax|last=Johnson|first=Kirk|date=August 23, 1991|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=June 18, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> Weicker initially campaigned on a platform of solving Connecticut's fiscal crisis without implementing an income tax. He won in a three-way race with Republican [[John G. Rowland]] and Democrat [[Bruce Morrison]], taking 40% of the vote against Rowland's 37% and Morrison's 21%. Weicker lost [[Fairfield County, Connecticut|Fairfield]] and [[New Haven County, Connecticut|New Haven County]] counties to Rowland, but won eastern Connecticut, drawing especially strong support from the [[Hartford, Connecticut|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 Weicker's victory, reflected in Morrison's third-place finish.<ref name=":0" />

After taking office, with a projected $2.4 billion deficit,<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|url=http://www.yankeeinstitute.org/2016/02/weicker-feel-good-speech-income-tax/|title=Budget Address by Governor Lowell P. Weicker, Jr., to a Joint Session of the Connecticut General Assembly, 13 February 1991 |date=February 13, 2016 |publisher=Yankee Institute for Public Policy |language=en-US|access-date=June 18, 2017}}</ref><ref name=":5" /> Weicker reversed himself and pushed for the adoption of an income tax, a move that was very unpopular.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":2" /> He stated, "My policy when I came in was no income tax, but that fell apart on the rocks of fiscal fact."<ref name=":8">{{Cite magazine|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,975293,00.html|title=The Gutsiest Governor In America: Lowell Weicker|last=Ellis|first=David|date=April 13, 1992|magazine=Time|access-date=June 18, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0040-781X}}</ref> Weicker vetoed three budgets that did not contain an income tax, and forced a partial government shutdown, before the [[Connecticut General Assembly|General Assembly]] narrowly passed it in 1991.<ref name=":6" /> The 1991 budget set the income tax rate at 6%,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-07-01-vw-1250-story.html|title=A Taxing Situation: Politics: Connecticut Gov. Lowell Weicker loves a challenge. He's facing his biggest one yet by proposing the state's first income tax to solve its budget mess.|last=Mehren|first=Elizabeth|date=July 1, 1991|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=June 18, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}</ref> lowered the sales tax from 8% to 6% while expanding its base, reduced the corporate tax to 10.5% over two years, and eliminated taxes on capital gains, interest, and dividends.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7" /> It also included $1.2 billion in line-by-line budget cuts,<ref name=":8" /> including the elimination of state aid to private and parochial schools, but held the line on social programs.<ref name=":2" /> His drastic measures provoked controversy.<ref name=":5" /> A huge protest rally in [[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford]] attracted some 40,000 participants, some of whom cursed at and spat at Governor Weicker.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" />

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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fifteen Years of Folly: The Failures of Connecticut's Income Tax |url=http://www.yankeeinstitute.org/files/pdf/68087%20text.pdf |access-date=August 28, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071127043154/http://www.yankeeinstitute.org/files/pdf/68087%20text.pdf |archive-date=November 27, 2007 |publisher=Yankee Institute for Public Policy}}</ref> However, he earned national attention for his leadership on the issue, receiving the [[John F. Kennedy Library Foundation]]'s [[Profile in Courage Award]] for taking an unpopular stand, then holding firm.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Johnson |first1=Kirk |title=MAY 24–30: Profile in Courage; Lowell Weicker Jr. Wants Washington To Take Note|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/05/31/weekinreview/may-24-30-profile-in-courage-lowell-weicker-jr-wants-washington-to-take-note.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C%7B%221%22%3A%22RI%3A6%22%7D|access-date=October 6, 2014|newspaper=New York Times|date=May 31, 1992}}</ref> Within two years, the state's budget was in surplus and he was well-regarded among voters.<ref name=":2" /> In retirement, he commented, "You've had 19 years to repeal it, and all you've done is spend it."<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1" />

Despite his increasing popularity, he did not seek re-election as governor in 1994, citing wanting to spend time with his children as the reason. His last year in office was marked by a controversy over the firing of the state commissioner of motor vehicles, Louis Goldberg.<ref name=":4" /> In 2000, he endorsed Senator [[Bill Bradley]] (D-NJ) for President. In 2004, Weicker supported former [[Vermont]] Gov. [[Howard Dean]]'s (D-VT) presidential bid. He expressed sympathy for the budget struggles of Governor [[Dannel Malloy]], drawing a parallel with his own efforts to remedy a fiscal crisis.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1" />

In his book ''Independent Nation'' (2004), political analyst [[John Avlon]] describes Weicker as a [[Radical center (politics)|radical centrist]] governor and thinker.<ref>Avlon, John (2004).  ''Independent Nation: How the Vital Center Is Changing American Politics''.  Harmony Books / Random House, pp. 177–93 ("Radical Centrists").  {{ISBN|978-1-4000-5023-9}}.</ref>

==Later career==
[[File:Lowell Weicker in 2006 (206884444) (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|Weicker at a 2006 event for [[Ned Lamont]] in [[Greenwich, Connecticut]]]]

Weicker published a memoir entitled ''Maverick'' in 1995, co-written with [[Barry Sussman]].<ref name = Pazniokas/><ref name = Johnson/> The following year, he joined the board of directors for [[Compuware]].<ref name="COMPUWARE-CORPORATION-Jul-2002-DEF-14A">{{cite web|url=http://edgar.secdatabase.com/523/95012402002402/filing-main.htm |title=COMPUWARE CORPORATION, Form DEF 14A, Filing Date Jul 22, 2002 |publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date =May 15, 2018}}</ref> In 1999, he became a member of the board of directors for the [[WWE|World Wrestling Federation]] (now known as WWE), and held this position until 2011.<ref>[http://www.greenwichtime.com/default/article/The-break-up-Weicker-to-leave-the-board-of-WWE-1342526.php "The breakup: Weicker to leave the board of WWE"], GreenwichTime.com, April 18, 2011</ref> Despite the long professional relationship, Weicker did not support former WWE CEO [[Linda McMahon]] in either of her unsuccessful bids for the U.S. Senate in [[2010 United States Senate election in Connecticut|2010]] or [[2012 United States Senate election in Connecticut|2012]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Backing-Murphy-Weicker-disparages-McMahon-s-3865380.php |title=Backing Murphy, Weicker disparages McMahon's credentials |author=Neil Vigdor |access-date=September 4, 2020 |date=September 14, 2012 |work=Connecticut Post}}</ref>

Weicker served from 2001 to 2011 as president of the board of directors of [[Trust for America's Health]], a Washington, DC–based non-profit, non-partisan health policy research organization and was formerly a member of the board of directors of United States Tobacco. From 2003 on Weicker served on the board of Medallion Financial Corp., a lender to purchasers of taxi medallions in leading cities across the U.S. He was named to the board through his personal and business relationship with [[Andrew M. Murstein]], president of Medallion.<ref>Medallion Financial Corp. annual report, 2010, p. 78</ref>

Weicker considered a rematch against Senator [[Joe Lieberman]] in [[2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut|2006]]. He objected to Lieberman's support for the [[Iraq War]] and told ''[[The New York Times]]'' in 2005, "If he's out there scot-free and nobody will do it [run against Senator Lieberman], I'd have to give serious thought to doing it myself, and I don't want to do it."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/06/nyregion/metrocampaigns/weicker-may-return-to-politics-over-liebermans.html|title=Weicker May Return to Politics Over Lieberman's Support of War|last=Yardley|first=William|date=December 6, 2005|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181127143932/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/06/nyregion/metrocampaigns/weicker-may-return-to-politics-over-liebermans.html|archive-date=November 27, 2018|url-status=live|language=en}}</ref> Weicker ultimately did not run, but he endorsed [[Ned Lamont]], who defeated Lieberman in the Democratic primary, causing Lieberman to run as an independent.<ref name = Pazniokas/> The Lieberman campaign released an ad that borrowed from one aired during the 1988 Senate race, which depicted Weicker as a [[hibernating]] [[bear]] ignoring his Senate duties except at election time. In the 2006 ad, Weicker reappeared as a wounded bear while Lieberman's Democratic challenger, Lamont, was depicted as a bear cub sent and directed by Weicker. Lieberman ultimately defeated Lamont in November.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006/pages/results/states/CT/S/01/epolls.0.html | work=CNN | title=CNN.com – Elections 2006 | access-date=May 27, 2010}}</ref>

In 2015, despite criticizing Cuba for its lack of "human rights and democratic elections", Weicker described the country's [[Universal healthcare|free healthcare]] system as one of its most positive aspects.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://lymeline.com/2015/01/former-governor-lowell-weicker-lauds-president-obamas-new-openness-to-cuba/|title=Former Governor Lowell Weicker Lauds President Obama's New Openness to Cuba}}</ref>

During the [[Republican Party presidential primaries, 2016|2016 Republican primaries]], Weicker wrote an editorial in the ''[[Hartford Courant]]'' in which he criticized the repudiation of [[Rockefeller Republican]]s, the party's alienation of various population groups, and its obstructionist stance in Congress. He stated that the selection of [[Donald Trump]] as their presidential candidate "will complete their slow and steady descent into irrelevance."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.courant.com/opinion/op-ed/hc-op-weicker-republicans-self-destructed-0515-20160513-story.html|title=Weicker: Trump Signals Sunset Of Republican Party|last=Weicker, Jr.|first=Lowell|date=May 14, 2016|work=[[Hartford Courant]]|access-date=June 18, 2017|language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2020, he filed an [[amicus brief]] on the side of [[Pennsylvania]] in the notable election case ''[[Texas v. Pennsylvania]]''. Pennsylvania won the case and Biden was sworn in shortly after. Weicker had served with Biden in the U.S. Senate for 16 years.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://reason.com/volokh/2020/12/09/additional-filings-in-and-additional-thoughts-on-the-texas-election-suit/ |title=Additional Filings in and Additional Thoughts on the Texas Election Suit |date=December 9, 2020 |department=[[The Volokh Conspiracy]] |magazine=[[Reason (magazine)|Reason]] |first=Jonathan H. |last=Adler |author-link=Jonathan H. Adler |access-date=December 10, 2020 |archive-date=December 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201209234239/https://reason.com/volokh/2020/12/09/additional-filings-in-and-additional-thoughts-on-the-texas-election-suit/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Personal life and death==
Weicker lived in [[Old Lyme, Connecticut]], in his later years.<ref name = Johnson/> He was married three times and had five sons.<ref name = Johnson/> His first marriage, to Marie Louise Godfrey, lasted from 1953 to their divorce in 1977.<ref name = Pazniokas/> He then married Camille Butler, his secretary. Their six-year marriage was described by ''[[The Connecticut Mirror]]'' as "tumultuous", and it ended in divorce.<ref name = Pazniokas/> His third marriage, to Claudia Testa Ingram, lasted from 1984 until Weicker's death, at [[Middlesex Hospital (Connecticut)|Middlesex Hospital]] in [[Middletown, Connecticut]], on June 28, 2023, at age 92.<ref name = Pazniokas/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/22/style/senator-weicker-weds-claudia-ingram.html |title=Senator Weicker Weds Claudia Ingram |date=December 22, 1984 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=February 21, 2019}}</ref> By the time of his death, he was the final former member of the Senate Watergate Committee.

==See also==
* [[List of U.S. state governors born outside the United States]]
* [[Obama Republicans (disambiguation)]]
* [[Profile in Courage Award]]
* [[Rockefeller Republican]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite book|author=Weicker, Lowell P. (with Barry Sussman)|title=Maverick: A Life in Politics|publisher=Little Brown & Co|year=1995|isbn=978-0-316-92814-4}} (Memoir)
* Barone, Michael, et al. ''The Almanac of American Politics 1976: The Senators, the Representatives and the Governors: Their Records and Election Results, Their States and Districts'' (1975); new editions every 2 years through the 1996 editions cover his political career
* Lowell Weicker's papers are held at the [[Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library]] at the [[University of Virginia]]

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*{{C-SPAN|425}}
*[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=W000253 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress entry]

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[[Category:1931 births]]
[[Category:2023 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American memoirists]]
[[Category:A Connecticut Party politicians]]
[[Category:American anti–Iraq War activists]]
[[Category:American people of German descent]]
[[Category:Candidates in the 1980 United States presidential election]]
[[Category:Connecticut independents]]
[[Category:Connecticut local politicians]]
[[Category:Governors of Connecticut]]
[[Category:Independent state governors of the United States]]
[[Category:Lawrenceville School alumni]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Connecticut]]
[[Category:Politicians from Greenwich, Connecticut]]
[[Category:People from Old Lyme, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Radical centrist writers]]
[[Category:Republican Party United States senators from Connecticut]]
[[Category:Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Connecticut]]
[[Category:United States Army officers]]
[[Category:University of Virginia School of Law alumni]]
[[Category:Watergate scandal investigators]]
[[Category:Yale College alumni]]
[[Category:Liberalism in the United States]]
[[Category:20th-century United States senators]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives]]