Idaho Capital Sun: Republican tells Native candidate to go back to where she came from

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Idaho Sen. Dan Foreman, R-Moscow, listens to proceedings on the Senate floor at the State Capitol building on January 9, 2023. Photo by Otto Kitsinger for Idaho Capital Sun

Idaho senator tells Native American candidate to go back to where she came from at forum

Sen. Dan Foreman, a Republican from Moscow, stormed out of the ‘meet your candidates’ event in Latah County after a question about discrimination

Wednesday, October 9, 2024

By Julie Luchetta, Idaho Capital Sun

This story was first published by Boise State Public Radio on October 3, 2024.

A bipartisan forum in a small Latah County community took a turn when Republican Senate incumbent Dan Foreman stormed out of the event, following a racist outburst directed at a Native American candidate.

On Tuesday last week, local Democrat and Republican representatives organized a “Meet your candidates” forum in the northern Idaho town of Kendrick. Three contenders from each party vying for Legislative District 6 seats — one senate and two house representatives positions — answered questions submitted by audience members.

When asked if discrimination existed in Idaho, conservative Sen. Dan Foreman said no.

In a statement released last Wednesday, Democratic candidate for House Seat A and member of the Nez Perce tribe Trish Carter-Goodheart said she pushed back on that idea when it was her turn to speak, pointing to her own experience and the history of white supremacy groups in North Idaho.

“[J]ust because someone hasn’t personally experienced discrimination, doesn’t mean it’s not happening. Racism and discrimination are real issues here in Idaho, as anyone familiar with our state’s history knows,” Carter-Goodheart’s statement read. “I highlighted our weak hate crime laws and mentioned the presence of the Aryan Nations in northern Idaho as undeniable evidence of this reality.”

Trish Carter-Goodheart statement on ‘hateful, racist remarks’ from Republican politician

“People like Dan Foreman do not represent our diverse community, and I will continue to stand against the hatred and racism they spread,” said Trish Carter-Goodheart, a candidate for the Idaho Legislature.

Native Vote

Foreman stood up and angrily interjected, using an expletive to criticize what he cast as the liberal bent of the response, according to the release and people present at the forum.

Carter-Goodheart said he then told her she should go back to where she came from, and heatedly stormed off. One event organizer and two other panelists confirmed Carter-Goodheart’s account, adding Foreman appeared very agitated.

Carter-Goodheart is campaigning to be a House representative and is not running against the senator. Her opponent, Republican Rep. Lori McCann, was also present at the forum. In an email, she said she read Carter-Goodheart’s statement “and found it to be an accurate account of what transpired in Kendrick.”

Nez Perce Tribe: ‘We are all from here’

The Nez Perce Tribe is condemning remarks from a Republican politician who told a Native candidate to “go back to where you came from.”

Native Vote

Foreman has a history of angrily confronting people in public, and shouting profanities.

He did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.

Indigenous people, including the Nez Perce tribe, have lived in the Columbia River Basin for thousands of years. Foreman was born in Lake Forest, Illinois.

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This story appeared on Idaho Capital Sun on October 3, 2024. It is published under a Creative Commons license (CC BY-ND 4.0).

Idaho Capital Sun is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Idaho Capital Sun maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Christina Lords for questions: info@idahocapitalsun.com. Follow Idaho Capital Sun on Facebook and X.