Stone served in the North Carolina Senate in the 1955, 1957, 1961, and 1963 sessions. During the 1955 session he introduced a bill to reinstate a vehicle inspection system, but it was defeated. During the Democratic primaries of the 1960 North Carolina gubernatorial election, he supported I. Beverly Lake Sr.'s candidacy. He was elected President of the Senate on February 6, 1963 and assumed the responsibility of presiding over the body, as the office of Lieutenant Governor was vacant. He had a poor relationship with the press, and banned journalists from standing on the floor of the Senate in the North Carolina State Legislative Building, forcing them to sit in the gallery. Newspapers were particularly critical of him when he worked to have laws altered so he could assume the Lieutenant Governor's salary while presiding over the Senate.
