Idaho Republican who spoke disrespectfully to Native American candidate retains seat
The North Idaho senator who told a Native American candidate to “go back to where you came from” won reelection in a back-and-forth race.
Sen. Dan Foreman, R-Viola, made the comments at a small-town candidate forum earlier this year, according to multiple people in attendance. The Idaho Republican Party stood by him, and Foreman defended himself on social media.
With all ballots counted, Foreman had 53.3% of the vote, and his Democratic challenger, Julia Parker, had 46.7%. The race separated by nearly 2,000 votes, with Foreman collecting 14,847 and Parker 12,986. Foreman had a big showing in Nez Perce County, home to Lewiston, while Parker grabbed the lion’s share of votes in Latah County, home to Moscow and the University of Idaho.
The district also includes Lewis County, where Foreman had a substantial edge.
A request for comment from Foreman was not immediately returned.
“I’m happy with the race we ran,” Parker told the Idaho Statesman by phone. “We’ll see how the count turns out.”
At the debate in question, the candidates were asked whether they thought discrimination existed in Idaho. Trish Carter-Goodheart, a member of the Nez Perce tribe, said racism and discrimination were real problems, according to previous Statesman reporting.
After that, Foreman yelled that he was sick and tired of “this liberal bulls—,” and then said she should go back to where she came from before leaving the forum, according to Carter-Goodheart and others who were there.
The event was not recorded.
Foreman later said on Facebook that he had been “race-baited.”
Foreman first ran for office in 2016, defeating the incumbent by just over 300 votes, according to the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office. He lost the general election in 2018 and 2020, but resumed office again after winning a tight 2022 election with 50.1% of the vote.
Some of Foreman’s most prominent bills have been on abortion. He once yelled at a group of University of Idaho students trying to visit his legislative office that “abortion is murder.”
In 2017, he told the Lewiston Tribune that he planned to sponsor a bill classifying abortion as first-degree murder for the mother and the doctor.
In the 2024 session, the 71-year-old Air Force veteran introduced a personal bill to remove exceptions for rape and incest in Idaho’s abortion laws, according to previous Statesman reporting.
So far this election cycle, Foreman has received over $23,000 in contributions. Parker has raised more than $90,000.
This story was originally published November 5, 2024 at 10:15 PM.
