Former Tennessee state Sen. Frank Niceley dies of suspected heart attack

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Former state Sen. Frank Niceley, a farmer and longtime conservative lawmaker known for his colorful comments on Tennessee's Capitol Hill, died Thursday. He was 78.

Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Coffey confirmed that Niceley was found on a tractor on his family farm in Strawberry Plains on Thursday and later died at the hospital. Coffey said the cause of death is a suspected heart attack.

The Republican was first elected to a state House seat in 1988. He served two, two-year terms, then was out of the Legislature until he won a return to the House in 2004.

In 2012, Niceley won a seat in the Senate, where he remained until he lost a Republican primary election in 2024 to now-Sen. Jessie Seal. The most recent boundaries of Niceley's district covered Claiborne, Grainger, Hancock, Jefferson, Sevier and Union counties.

Niceley spoke “in a way that makes you laugh, learn, and then Google a few things afterward,” as a resolution passed this year described it.

Republican Senate Speaker Randy McNally said on social media that Niceley was the “unofficial historian” of the Senate and a “Tennessee original in every possible sense.”

“Fiercely independent, deeply rooted in his community, and unwavering in his convictions, he brought a farmer’s wisdom and a statesman’s heart to public service,” McNally said.

Niceley's meandering stories and commentary sometimes created controversy. He sparked national criticism in 2022 after seemingly praising Adolf Hitler on the Senate floor as an example for people who are homeless while discussing a bill that toughened penalties for camping on public property.

The year before, Niceley commented that with the movement of companies from northern cities to the South, “I think I can tell my grandson the war between the states is still going on and we’re winning.”

Niceley was in tune with fellow Republicans on many major topics, but he also had an independent streak and his own priorities.

He successfully pushed legislation to allow industrial hemp growing. He opposed making cockfighting a felony offense. He criticized legislation that authorizes toll express lanes on some highways through public-private partnerships. And he was against the statewide expansion of a school voucher program.

The voucher stance prompted outside political spending against him in his 2024 primary loss.