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A Republican State Senator reportedly told a Native American candidate, “Go back to where you came from,” in a heated exchange before storming out of an Idaho forum.
Trish Carter-Goodheart, a Democratic candidate for the House District 6 seat and member of the Nez Perce Tribe, said she was “met with hateful, racist remarks” from State Senator Dan Foreman at the bipartisan forum in the north-Idaho town of Kendrick on Monday night.
Tensions rose when a question was asked about a state bill addressing discrimination, and candidates were given two minutes to answer. When Carter-Goodheart responded, she pushed back on comments made earlier that suggested discrimination is not a major issue in the state.
“I calmly pointed out that just because someone hasn’t personally experienced discrimination doesn’t mean it’s not happening,” Carter-Goodheart explained in a statement posted on Facebook. “That’s when Sen. Foreman lost all control,” she said. “His words to me: ‘I’m so sick and tired of this liberal b*******! Why don’t you go back to where you came from?!’”
In a follow-up statement on Friday, Carter-Goodheart said she was “not prepared” to have conversations about racism with her two young children, aged eight and five, as a result of the altercation. “My children are not used to seeing or hearing an adult man scream with such hate, and my children were scared, and of course, now they have many questions,” she added.
Foreman vehemently denies that he made the racist remark and said the incident was a “quintessential display of race-baiting.”
“I made no, repeat no, racial slur or statement of any nature,” he said in a statement on Facebook. “The accusation made is patently false.” The Independent has contacted the Senator for further comment.
However, witnesses at the forum have come forward and claimed they heard the Republican make the comments. Representative Lori McCann told the Lewiston Tribute: “Her statement is accurate. [Carter-Goodheart] leaned over to me and said, ‘Where am I supposed to go?’”
Foreman’s Democratic opponent, Julia Parker, who was also in attendance, said he stood up and shouted after Carter-Goodheart’s response. “I stood up and faced [Foreman] and tried to defuse what was going on,” Parker said.
The Nez Perce Tribe has lived on the Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest for thousands of years. The northern edge of the tribe’s reservation is only 10 miles from where the forum was held.
In an earlier post, Foreman said there “was no systemic racism “ in Idaho or America. “Well, here is a news flash for the lefties out there,” he said. “There is no systemic racism in America or Idaho. Idaho is a great state — the best in the Union!”
Security will be stepped up at the next forum, Carter-Goodheart said.
