KENDRICK, Idaho (AP) — Tensions rose during a bipartisan forum this week after an audience question about discrimination reportedly led an Idaho state senator to angrily tell a Native American candidate to “go back to where you came from'.
Republican Senator Dan Foreman left the event early after the outburst and later denied making racist comments in a Facebook post. He did not respond to a voice message from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Trish Carter-Goodheart, a Democratic candidate for the House District 6 seat and a member of the Nez Perce tribe, said the eruption left her shocked and thinking about security needs for future public events. It also forced some difficult conversations with her two young children, Avery and Lavender, who were present.
“Having conversations about racism with an eight-year-old and a five-year-old is not something me and my husband Dane were prepared for,” Carter-Goodheart said Friday. 'They've never seen a grown man so collapsed. They were afraid. I was scared.”
The event was held Monday evening by Democratic and Republican precinct committee members from the small northern Idaho town of Kendrick, The Lewiston Tribune reported. It was for House and Senate candidates from the local district, including Foreman; his Democratic opponent, Julia Parker: Republican Rep. Lori McCann; and her Democratic opponent, Carter-Goodheart.
About an hour after the event, someone asked a question about a bill that addresses discrimination. The candidates were each given two minutes to respond, and when it was Carter-Goodheart's turn, she walked back previous comments suggesting discrimination is not a major problem in Idaho.
She said the state's hate crime laws are weak, noting that the neo-Nazi group Aryan Nations has made northern Idaho its home base for years. She also talked about being the only candidate there who was a person of color.
“I pointed out that just because someone hasn't personally experienced discrimination doesn't mean it doesn't happen,” she said. “I was making my statement, and then he shot up out of his chair and said, 'I'm so sick of your liberal (expletive). Why don't you go back where you came from?'”
The Nez Perce tribe has lived on the Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest, including the area where Kendrick is located, for more than 11,500 years. The northern edge of the reservation, while only a small portion of the tribe's historic territory, is less than 10 miles from the Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall where the forum was held.
“It was like slow motion,” Carter-Goodheart said. “I remember thinking, 'Go back where you came from?' That's within a few miles of where this forum is taking place. We literally have plots of land that are rented to family farms in the area.”
In his Facebook post, Foreman called the incident a “typical display of racism” and said the Democratic attendees made personal attacks and “declared Idaho a racist state.”
“Well, here's a newsflash for the leftists among us. There is no systemic racism in America or Idaho,” Foreman said. “Idaho is a great state – the best in the Union!”
He then added an attack on abortion rights advocates, saying, “And furthermore, it is immoral and against the law of God to kill unborn babies in the womb. You have no right to kill the unborn. There is no such thing as your self-proclaimed “women's reproductive rights.” No such body of rights exists in state or federal constitutions. And we don't do designer rights in Idaho.”
During the forum exchange, Parker and McCann both said: Foreman stood up and yelled after Carter-Goodheart's response.
“I stood up and looked at (Foreman) and tried to defuse what was going on,” Parker said.
McCann said Carter-Goodheart's description of the incident matched her own memory.
“Her statement is accurate,” McCann told the Tribune. “(Carter-Goodheart) leaned over and said, 'Where do I go?'”
The event lasted about 20 minutes after Foreman left. Carter-Goodheart said she looked at the only door, worried he would come back, and the female candidates later checked on each other.
“I really appreciate that from the people participating, especially Lori McCann,” she said. “She is my oldest and I appreciate her and her commitment to our community. We have a big difference in our values and what we want to do for our communities, but she checked me and I checked her, and it was the right thing to do.
More candidate forums are planned in the coming weeks, Carter-Goodheart said. Organizers of an upcoming League of Women Voters event emailed Carter-Goodheart on Friday to say police would be present as a precaution, she said, and the Idaho Secretary of State's Office offered guidance on security measures her campaign is calling for can pay.
“We've been told it's not a bad idea to have security,” she said. “And we need to have honest discussions about race and discrimination and the disparities and disparities that exist not just in Idaho but across the country.”
