A Rocky Mount pastor and former state lawmaker is accusing his Republican opponent's campaign of exploiting the 2014 death of his son in a mailer that shows him standing next to a burning car and labels him weak on crime. Rev. James Gailliard, the Democratic candidate for North Carolina Senate District 11, says the image landed just before what would have been his son Kyol's birthday, reopening a wound from a fatal crash in Rocky Mount twelve years ago that killed the 27-year-old along with two other young men.
Gailliard's accusation, first reported by the Raleigh News & Observer, centers on a mailer sent by the North Carolina Senate Majority Fund on behalf of incumbent Republican Sen. Lisa Barnes' reelection campaign. Barnes has authorized the mailer and told the paper it was not intended to reference Gailliard's son's death, adding that Gailliard has not disputed the facts the mailer presents and that voters deserve better than the ensuing controversy. Gailliard, for his part, said elections should not capitalize on people's tragedies and hardest moments.
Kyol Germane Allen-Gailliard died at age 27 in the May 2014 crash, according to an obituary confirmed by Legacy.com. Gailliard, founder and leader of Rocky Mount's Word Tabernacle Church, served as the first Black lawmaker to represent NC House District 25 from 2019 to 2023, per background compiled on Wikipedia.
A Toss-Up District With High Stakes
A Toss-Up District With High Stakes The clash is unfolding in one of the state's most closely watched legislative contests. Senate District 11, which spans Franklin, Nash and Vance counties, was named one of three toss-up seats by the Civitas Partisan Index as Democrats work to break the Republican supermajority in the state Senate, according to reporting by Carolina Public Press. Barnes, a three-term incumbent, first won the seat in November 2020 after unseating former senator Allen Wellons.
Gailliard's own path to the ballot has been rockier. He won election to House District 25 in 2018 before losing the seat in November 2022 in a 52%-to-44% result, according to electoral records reflected on Wikipedia. He was the first African-American elected to represent that House district.
Personal Losses Loom Over the Campaign
Both candidates have endured private tragedies that now sit uncomfortably close to the public dispute. Barnes told the News & Observer she lost her husband in 2025. Johnny Carson Barnes, president of Barnes Farming Corporation, died on July 12, 2025, at age 61 due to complications from an illness, according to a statement from Barnes Farming Corporation describing him as a prominent national sweetpotato producer and state agribusiness leader.
The Barnes family's agribusiness has faced financial and regulatory turbulence in recent years. Business North Carolina reported in December 2024 that the operation faced financial problems and receivership. Separately, Barnes Farming has also drawn coverage in connection with the family's agribusiness.
An AI-Generated Video Adds to the Noise
Beyond the mailer, the race has also drawn attention for an AI-generated video circulated on a local Facebook page. The video, posted by a page called The True Rocky Mount and produced by Rocky Mount auto repair shop owner Tim Barnes for an audience of 17,000 followers, depicts an AI rendering of Jesus Christ endorsing Sen. Barnes while showing Gailliard working alongside a devil-like creature to block utility legislation, as detailed by Business North Carolina.
The 6.5-minute video repeats the claim that Jesus called Barnes to protect Nash County. Business North Carolina's reporting states Barnes praised the video and said it accurately reflects her calling, despite having no input into its production. The utility legislation referenced in the video is Senate Bill 1076, a proposal that would bar the City of Rocky Mount from transferring revenue from its municipally owned electric system into general funds to cover non-utility deficits, according to bill records on LegiScan. Republican sponsors argued the city had mismanaged those funds, while Gailliard claimed the bill was designed to manipulate local voters' emotions.
Farmers Market Funding Also Ties Into the District
Barnes' record on local funding has also drawn coverage. Hoodline previously reported that she secured $308,000 for a Rocky Mount farmers market project in the district, part of the broader agricultural infrastructure spending that intersects with the utility and farming issues now shaping the campaign. With early voting approaching, the mailer dispute and the AI video have become flashpoints in a district both parties see as pivotal to control of the state Senate.
