George Francis Barnes (May 25, 1919 – March 15, 2004) was an American businessman and politician aligned with the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

, who served in the Virginia state senate briefly in 1963 and then again from 1966 until his defeat ten years later.

Early life, education and military service

Born in Pocahontas, Virginia, he was named after his father, educated at Virginia Tech, then served in the merchant marines during World War II.

Career

Following the conflict, in addition to farming in Tazewell County, Barnes operated an independent coal mining company. He served as President of the Tazewell County Farm Bureau and as vice president of the National Independent Coal Operators Association. Barnes won his first election in 1963, following the death of longtime state senator Harry C. Stuart, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

who aligned with the

Byrd Organization The Byrd machine, or Byrd organization, was a political machine of the Democratic Party led by former Governor and U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd (1887–1966) that dominated Virginia politics for much of the 20th century. From the 1890s until the l ...

during

Massive Resistance Massive resistance was a strategy declared by U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd Sr. of Virginia and his brother-in-law James M. Thomson, who represented Alexandria in the Virginia General Assembly, to get the state's white politicians to pass laws and p ...

. Although Barnes failed to win re-election initially in 1964 (the district's number changing), two years later voters again elected Barnes to the Virginia state senate. He won re-election several times, despite further district boundary and number changes, in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's one man/one vote jurisprudence (which also led to the state senate's expansion from 33 seats including multi-member districts to 40 single-member seats) as well as population changes reflected in federal censuses. Thus, Barnes won the special election to represent the 18th district, which included Buchanan, Russell and Tazewell counties, but within a year lost the next general election (when the same counties were temporarily renamed the 17th district) to Democrat and attorney Donald A. McGlothlin, Sr. (whose senatorial career ended in the next rearrangement, but who would serve Buchanan County for two decades in the Virginia House of Delegates). In November 1965 Barnes won election to the new 16th senatorial district which now included

Buchanan Buchanan may refer to: People * Buchanan (surname) Places Africa * Buchanan, Liberia, a large coastal town Antarctica * Buchanan Point, Laurie Island Australia * Buchanan, New South Wales * Buchanan, Northern Territory, a locality * Buchanan ...

and

Smyth Smyth is an early variant of the common surname Smith commonly found in Ireland.Citation: Bardsley, 1901 Shown below are notable people who share the surname "Smyth". Notable people sharing the Smyth surname Listed here are people who share the ...

together with Tazewell County. Barnes's last district (beginning in 1972),

Virginia's 38th Senate district Virginia's 38th Senate district is one of 40 districts in the Senate of Virginia. It has been represented by Republican Travis Hackworth since 2021, following the death of fellow Republican A. Benton Chafin from complications of COVID-19. Geogr ...

, lost Buchanan and Smyth Counties but gained Bland, Craig, Giles, Pulaski and Wythe Counties. Smyth County moved to the 39th District, to which prominent prosecutor and later state judge George M. Warren, Jr. was elected and re-elected several times (and with his father would be the namesake of the Bristol Justice Center), and Buchanan County was added to the 40th District, to which Democrat Dr. John C. Buchanan was elected. Senator Barnes was succeeded by Democrat Daniel W. Bird Jr.

Death

Barnes died in 2004.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, George F. 1919 births 2004 deaths Republican Party Virginia state senators 20th-century American legislators Virginia Tech alumni United States Merchant Mariners of World War II 20th-century Virginia politicians