| Dan Foreman | |
| Office: | Idaho State Senator |
| Constituency: | 6th district (2022–present) |
| Term Start: | December 1, 2022 |
| Predecessor: | David Nelson |
| Constituency1: | 5th district (2016–2018) |
| Term Start1: | December 1, 2016 |
| Term End1: | November 30, 2018 |
| Predecessor1: | Dan Schmidt |
| Successor1: | David Nelson |
| Birth Date: | 20 September 1953 |
| Birth Place: | Lake Forest, Illinois, U.S. |
| Party: | Republican |
| Spouse: | Maria |
| Children: | 7 |
| Residence: | Viola, Idaho, U.S. |
| Education: | Bradley University (BS) |
| Rank: | Colonel |
Daniel David Foreman III (born September 20, 1953) is an American politician who has served in the Idaho Senate since 2022, representing the 6th district. He previously served from 2016 to 2018 and represented the 5th district, which covers parts of Benewah and Latah counties.
Foreman was born in Lake Forest, Illinois to Daniel David Foreman Jr and Eileen Susan (McKeating) Foreman. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business management and administration from Bradley University in 1975.[1]
He served in the United States Air Force for 30 years and retired as a colonel. He later served as a police officer with the Moscow, Idaho Police Department. Foreman was elected to the Idaho Senate in 2016, narrowly defeating incumbent Democratic Senator Dan Schmidt.[2] [3] [4]
Foreman introduced several bills to the legislature during his first weeks in office, including one that would "classify abortion as first-degree murder — for the mother, as well as the doctor who performs the operation — except in cases where the mother’s life is endangered." He also introduced a bill that would reduce Idaho's sales tax from 6% to 5%, as well as two other tax bills.[5] [6]
Foreman was defeated in the November 2018 elections, losing to Democrat David Nelson, receiving 8,777 votes to Nelson's 11,197 votes.[7] [8]
He defeated Nelson in the 2022 election.[9]
Foreman has been a vocal critic of his own district, calling the area a "cesspool of liberalism".[10] Foreman denies climate change, referring to it as a "scam".[11] [12] He does not support the separation of church and state.[13]
Foreman claimed to be the victim of an online identity-theft hoax when on February 20, 2018, State Senator Maryanne Jordan confirmed she had filed an ethics complaint against Foreman after an unverified Twitter account claiming to be owned by Foreman indicated that a group of students should discuss "killing babies" with her.[14] Foreman reportedly had been scheduled to meet with college students from the University of Idaho who were advocating for birth control and sex education. After cancelling the meeting at the last minute, Foreman was recorded yelling at the students as he passed them in the hallway, telling them, "abortion is murder".[15]
On October 1, 2024, among the seated candidates at a "meet the candidates" forum in Kendrick, Foreman reportedly stood up and interrupted Trish Carter-Goodheart, a Native American woman born in Idaho and running for the state legislature, who was responding in her turn to a question from the audience regarding discrimination. Including profanities, he shouted at her "go back where you came from" and denied that racism existed in Idaho before angrily leaving the forum that continued without him. He later wrote on Facebook, "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".[16] Several attending the forum confirmed the report of the incident, including Foreman’s opponent who stated that she rose, confronted Foreman, and attempted to defuse his anger before he stormed out.[17]
Foreman and his wife, Maria, have 7 children and 20 grandchildren.[18] [19] Foreman is Catholic.[20]