Idaho GOP State Senator Tells Native American Candidate To 'Go Back To Where You Came From'

It's his own private Idaho.

A Republican state senator from Idaho told a Native American candidate to "go back where you came from" during a discussion about discrimination at a bipartisan political forum, according to reports.

Trish Carter-Goodheart, a Democratic candidate for House district 6, said in a statement to the Lewiston Tribune that she was responding to a question about discrimination in Idaho at the forum Monday night when the weird outburst happened.

Carter-Goodheart, a member of the Nez Perce Tribe, noted at the forum that "just 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."

She told the Associated Press that she also talked about the state's weak hate crime laws, the presence of the neo-nazi groups Aryan Nations in northern Idaho, and noted that she was the only person of color among the candidates.

As she was speaking, she said Sen. Dan Foreman, 71, a Republican, leaped out of his seat and complained: "I'm so sick and tired of this liberal bullshit. Why don't you go back to where you came from?"

"Where am I supposed to go?" Carter-Goodheart leaned over and asked Rep. Lori McCann, her Republican opponent, according to the Lewiston Tribune.

Carter-Goodheart told the AP that Foreman's outburst appeared to unfold in slow motion.

"I just remember thinking, 'Go back to where you came from'? That's within miles of where this forum is taking place. We have literal plots of land that are being leased out to family farms nearby," she said.

Carter-Goodheart's Nez Perce Tribe has existed in the Pacific Northwest for more than 11,500 years. The northern edge of its reservation is less than 10 miles from where the candidate forum was being held, the AP reported.

Foreman left the event early, and did not respond to a request for comment.

He did defend himself on his Facebook page, denying that he made racist comments or threatened anyone,, and insisted Idaho "does not practice systemic racism. That is a fact."

Foreman said his "accuser" while responding to the discrimination question "flew into a rage and shouted at me" that Foreman wasn't Native American.

"I enlightened this person to the fact I was born in America, and I am therefore a native American. There was no racial slur in my statement. However, one could easily interpret the remarks of my accuser to be utterly racist. What does, 'You people' mean?" said Foreman, who was born in Illinois, and appears to be of white European ancestry.

Foreman went on to attack the media for taking Carter-Goodheart's side, sensationalizing the encounter and failing to interview attendees who could speak on his behalf.

He said it was "quite frankly nothing more than a stereotypical left-wing hit job on a Republican candidate," and invoked Donald Trump.

"Just look at what they have done to former President Trump," he insisted, failing to clarify if he was speaking about Native Americans, not including himself.

"It seems the more effective a conservative elected official is, the more that person is attacked by the left and most, not all, of the media. I guess I must be very effective as a conservative Republican Senator," Foreman added.