Lisa Stone Barnes (born July 16, 1966) is an American businesswoman and politician. A member of the Republican Party, she was elected to the

North Carolina House of Representatives The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, Speaker of the House, who holds powers si ...

in 2018 after serving for six years on the

Nash County Nash County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 94,970. Its county seat is Nashville. Nash County is part of the Rocky Mount, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The area ...

board of commissioners. Rather than seek reelection, Barnes instead decided to instead run for the

state senate In the United States, the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states. A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at ...

in 2020, defeating former senator Allen Wellons.

Early life and education

Barnes was born Donna Lisa Stone to Mr. and Mrs. Donald R. Stone in

Nash County, North Carolina Nash County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 94,970. Its county seat is Nashville. Nash County is part of the Rocky Mount, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The area ...

. She graduated from Southern Nash High School and

Peace College William Peace University is a private college in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Affiliated with the Presbyterian Church, it offers undergraduate degrees in more than 30 majors and its School of Professional Studies (SPS) offers accelera ...

before marrying Johnny Carson Barnes at Middlesex Church of God on December 12, 1987. She received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in political science from

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

in 1988 and completed the legal assistant program at

Meredith College Meredith College is a private women's liberal arts college and coeducational graduate school Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qu ...

Political career

Barnes ran for the 4th district seat on the Nash County board of commissioners in 2012, challenging incumbent Republican Danny Tyson. Central to the race was a proposed

Sanderson Farms Sanderson Farms is an American poultry producer which is based in Laurel, Mississippi. It is the third largest poultry producer in the United States and produces 13.65 million chickens per week. On July 22, 2022, it merged with Wayne Farms to fo ...

poultry processing plant, which Tyson, who was running for a third term, supported. Barnes, having previously cited environmental concerns about the project during her tenure on the county planning board, opposed it. She went on to win the primary and defeated Bert Daniel in the general election, becoming the county's youngest commissioner. In 2018, Barnes defeated former state representative Glen Bradley for the Republican nomination in North Carolina's 7th state house district. That November, she succeeded in unseating incumbent Democratic representative

Bobbie Richardson Bobbie J. Richardson (born December 25, 1949) is an American politician. She is the former Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party, former First Vice Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party and a former Democratic member of the North ...

, whose district was heavily redrawn in response to a federal lawsuit alleging racial

gerrymandering Gerrymandering, ( , originally ) defined in the contexts of Representative democracy, representative electoral systems, is the political manipulation of Boundary delimitation, electoral district boundaries to advantage a Political party, pa ...

by the state legislature. Barnes was sworn into office by

North Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists ...

associate justice Paul Martin Newby. A year into her term, Barnes announced her intention to run for the 11th district state senate seat being vacated by the retiring Rick Horner in 2020. After defeating Johnston County commissioner Patrick Harris and retired

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

colonel Dennis Nielsen in the March primary by a wide margin, she faced the Democratic nominee, former senator Allen Wellons in November. Barnes defeated Wellons by a ten-point margin.

Personal life

Barnes lives in

Spring Hope, North Carolina Spring Hope is a town in Nash County, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Rocky Mount, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,320 at the 2010 census. History The Dr. Hassell Brantley House, Spring Ho ...

with her husband, Johnny, president of Barnes Farming Corporation. Barnes Family Farms was put into receivership after defaulting on more than $40 million in loans. They have three children: Bethany, Joshua, and Jacy. They attend the Ridgecrest Worship Center in Rocky Mount, where Barnes has served as co-president of Women's Ministries.

References

External links

North Carolina General Assembly websiteCampaign website
* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Lisa Stone Living people 1966 births Republican Party North Carolina state senators Republican Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives North Carolina State University alumni People from Nash County, North Carolina William Peace University alumni 21st-century members of the North Carolina General Assembly