Lowell Weicker wasn't just a political giant. At 6 foot, 6 inches tall, he towered over almost any crowd. On Wednesday morning, Connecticut’s former governor and U.S. senator – who took on everyone from Richard Nixon to Donald Trump – died at the age of 92.

Gov. Ned Lamont called Weicker a mentor.

“He was a man who was bigger than life – always was, and always will be in my book,” he said. “He took the lead on a lot of issues before they were really big in the public consciousness.”

Weicker’s last public appearance was at Lamont’s first inauguration in 2019.

The two men shared much in common. Both came from Greenwich, were heirs to family fortunes, and both are a rarity in modern politics – centrists willing to buck their own parties.

“Partisanship doesn't play very well these days,” Weicker told News 12 Connecticut in 2010. “People want their problems solved.”

Weicker was a feisty politician who never backed down from a fight. In 1973, as a freshman senator, he was the first major Republican to demand President Richard Nixon’s resignation.

“What I admired about him was the political courage that he had,” said Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz.

Weicker even briefly ran for president in 1980. After 20 years in Congress, the Republican lost his Senate seat to Democrat Joe Lieberman in 1988.

Two years later, in 1990, Weicker left the GOP and was elected governor on the independent “A Connecticut Party” ticket. He only served one term.

Weicker’s final break with Republicans came in 2016, when the party picked Donald Trump to run for president. In a blistering Hartford Courant editorial, Weicker wrote: “When Republicans convene in Cleveland this summer and bestow upon Donald Trump the nomination to be the party’s standard-bearer, they will complete their slow and steady descent into irrelevance.”

Despite the withering criticism, some GOP leaders praised Weicker on Wednesday.

“Outspoken. Independent. Principled,” said state Sen. Kevin Kelly (R-Stratford), the top Republican in the Connecticut Senate. “Lowell Weicker embodied these qualities and had a deep appreciation for the state and the people of Connecticut.”

His hometown state senator also lauded Weicker.

“Lowell Weicker and Greenwich will forever be synonymous,” said state Sen. Ryan Fazio (R-Greenwich). “He was a leader who constantly challenged the status quo. He didn’t want to win any popularity contests. He was an independent-minded activist who stood up for what he believed in. He strove to make reforms despite intense political and public criticism.”

As governor, Weicker achieved several major accomplishments, including Connecticut’s original assault weapons ban and launching the state’s two tribal casinos.

But for most people, Weicker’s legacy will always be the deeply controversial state income tax, which he muscled through in 1991 amid record-setting budget deficits.

Duby McDowell covered that battle as a political reporter for WFSB-TV in Hartford.

“It was a wild ride to cover Lowell Weicker,” she said Wednesday.

But McDowell said Weicker’s legacy goes far beyond the income tax.

“He was a fiscal conservative for the most part, but he was a pretty progressive person,” she said. “When many politicians were running away from the issue of AIDS, Lowell Weicker really did what he could to try to get funding for AIDS patients and AIDS research.”

Praise flooded in following news of Weicker’s passing, particularly from Democrats.

Former Gov. Dannel Malloy:

Sen. Richard Blumenthal:

Sen. Chris Murphy:

Connecticut Senate President Martin Looney (D-New Haven):

Connecticut Democratic Party chair Nancy DiNardo:

Lamont ordered flags across the state to be flown at half-staff. Funeral arrangements and public memorial details have not been announced yet.