At a small-town candidate forum this week, a North Idaho Republican senator left the event early after making a disparaging remark about the Native American heritage of a Democratic candidate, people in attendance said.
Sen. Dan Foreman, R-Viola, was one of six House and Senate candidates for District 6 who attended a moderated forum in Kendrick, a town southeast of Moscow.
Roughly an hour into the discussion, candidates were asked whether they thought there was discrimination in the state. Rep. Brandon Mitchell, R-Moscow, answered first, saying he thought there wasn’t any discrimination in Idaho, according to Julia Parker, Foreman’s Democratic opponent.
After Mitchell spoke, Trish Carter-Goodheart, a Democratic House candidate who is a member of the Nez Perce Tribe, responded that she thought racism and discrimination were real problems in the state, and referenced the history of white supremacist enclaves in North Idaho, according to a statement she released after the forum.
After she spoke, Foreman stood up and began to yell, saying: “I’m so sick and tired of this liberal bulls---! Why don’t you go back to where you came from?” according to Carter-Goodheart’s statement.
The Idaho Statesman was unable to obtain a recording of Tuesday’s forum. Two of the event’s organizers, Parker and Kendrick Mayor Rose Norris, corroborated Carter-Goodheart’s account via phone.
Carter-Goodheart is from Lapwai, on the Nez Perce Reservation. Indigenous Nez Perce people have lived in Central Idaho and the Pacific Northwest for thousands of years.
“Racist comments like this one that were directed at me have no place in our community,” Carter-Goodheart told the Statesman. “Intolerance is unacceptable.”
“This is our land,” she added. “We’re never planning on leaving; this is where our ancestors are buried.”
Parker, Foreman’s opponent, told the Statesman that after he left early, the remaining candidates finished their discussion of discrimination, presented their closing statements and ended the forum. Earlier in the evening, after Parker had criticized Foreman’s record as a senator, she said he told her she’d “better not” do it again. Asking if he meant to threaten her, she said he replied: “You heard me.”
Sen. Dan Foreman, R-Viola, was one of six House and Senate candidates for District 6 who attended a moderated forum in Kendrick, a town southeast of Moscow.
Roughly an hour into the discussion, candidates were asked whether they thought there was discrimination in the state. Rep. Brandon Mitchell, R-Moscow, answered first, saying he thought there wasn’t any discrimination in Idaho, according to Julia Parker, Foreman’s Democratic opponent.
After Mitchell spoke, Trish Carter-Goodheart, a Democratic House candidate who is a member of the Nez Perce Tribe, responded that she thought racism and discrimination were real problems in the state, and referenced the history of white supremacist enclaves in North Idaho, according to a statement she released after the forum.
After she spoke, Foreman stood up and began to yell, saying: “I’m so sick and tired of this liberal bulls---! Why don’t you go back to where you came from?” according to Carter-Goodheart’s statement.
The Idaho Statesman was unable to obtain a recording of Tuesday’s forum. Two of the event’s organizers, Parker and Kendrick Mayor Rose Norris, corroborated Carter-Goodheart’s account via phone.
Carter-Goodheart is from Lapwai, on the Nez Perce Reservation. Indigenous Nez Perce people have lived in Central Idaho and the Pacific Northwest for thousands of years.
“Racist comments like this one that were directed at me have no place in our community,” Carter-Goodheart told the Statesman. “Intolerance is unacceptable.”
“This is our land,” she added. “We’re never planning on leaving; this is where our ancestors are buried.”
Parker, Foreman’s opponent, told the Statesman that after he left early, the remaining candidates finished their discussion of discrimination, presented their closing statements and ended the forum. Earlier in the evening, after Parker had criticized Foreman’s record as a senator, she said he told her she’d “better not” do it again. Asking if he meant to threaten her, she said he replied: “You heard me.”