Former Oklahoma state senator found dead with gunshot wound is 2nd GOP ex-lawmaker found dead in two days

A former Republican Oklahoma state senator was found dead with a gunshot wound in his home Wednesday, the second former GOP state lawmaker found shot in as many days.

Police found former state Sen. Jonathan Nichols in his home in Norman, 20 miles south of Oklahoma City, after receiving a report of someone shot. Police said the case is under investigation.

In this Aug. 30, 2005 file photo, Oklahoma State Senators Jonathan Nichols, left, (R-Norman) and Cliff Branan R-Oklahoma City, visit in Oklahoma City, Ok. shortly after a special session. Norman police are investigating after former state Sen. Jonathan Nichols was found dead of an apparent gunshot wound inside his home. (AP Photo/Bill Hefton)

Nichols, 53, served in the Oklahoma Senate from 2000 to 2012. He later took staff positions in the state House, Senate and the University of Oklahoma. No one has been arrested or named a suspect in Nichols death.

State Sen. Rob Standridge, a Republican who represents Nichols old district, called him "the most brilliant political, legal mind in the Oklahoma State Legislature" who "worked tirelessly as a senator and for years on staff to help guide our state forward," in a statement.

In this Jan. 28, 2015 file photo, Sen. Linda Collins-Smith, R-Pocahontas, speaks at the Arkansas state Capitol in Little Rock, Ark. Authorities in Arkansas say they're investigating as a homicide remains found outside the home of the former state senator who Republican Party officials say is dead. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston, File)

Nichols is the second former GOP state lawmaker to be found dead this week. On Tuesday, former Arkansas state Sen. Linda Collins-Smith, 57, was reportedly found dead outside her home in Pocahontas, about 130 miles northeast of the state capital, Little Rock.

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Her former press secretary told local news media the Democrat-turned-Republican was found shot to death and wrapped in a blanket. Police are investigating the death as a homicide.

Collins-Smith represented the 19th district in Arkansas from 2014 until 2019. She lost her party's primary last year.

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