Dan Foreman

Dan Foreman, Republican incumbent for Idaho Senate District 6

Dan Foreman is the Republican incumbent state senator for Idaho Legislative District 6, which covers the Moscow area. He won the May 19, 2026 Republican primary over Rep. Lori McCann, taking 4,243 votes (52.71%) to McCann's 3,806 (47.29%), according to certified results. He is on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot against Democrat Robin Weldy.

Background

Foreman was born in Lake Forest, Illinois, and graduated from Bradley University in Peoria in 1975 with a B.S. in business management and administration, according to his legislator page. He spent 30 years in the U.S. Air Force as a master navigator and combat veteran on KC-135 jet tankers and C-130 cargo aircraft. He retired as a full colonel and vice commander of the 168th Air Refueling Wing in Fairbanks, Alaska, in 2000. He also worked 11 years as a Moscow police officer and retired from that job. He is a commercial pilot and amateur radio operator. He and his wife Maria have been married 52 years, and they have seven children and 23 grandchildren. He describes himself as a Christian conservative and is a life member of the National Rifle Association, the Military Officers Association of America, and the VFW post in Potlatch, Idaho.

Election history

Foreman first won a Senate seat in 2016 in District 5, beating Democrat Dan J. Schmidt with 50.8% of the vote, according to the Idaho Secretary of State's election database. He lost re-election in 2018 to Democrat David Nelson, 43.9% to 56.1%. He lost again to Nelson in 2020, 49.6% to 50.4%. He returned in 2022, winning the open District 6 seat in a three-way general election with 50.1% of the vote. He was re-elected in November 2024 over Democrat Julia Parker, 53.3% to 46.7%.

Committee work and legislation

Foreman chairs the Senate Commerce and Human Resources Committee and serves on the Judiciary and Rules Committee, according to his legislator page.

In 2025 he co-sponsored Senate Bill 1210, the "medical freedom" bill, with Rep. Robert Beiswenger. The bill bars Idaho businesses, government entities, schools, and colleges from requiring medical interventions such as vaccines for employment, entry, or attendance. It passed after Gov. Brad Little vetoed an earlier version. The Senate gave it final passage 27-6 and the House passed it 44-23, and the governor signed it the same day, April 4, 2025, according to the Idaho Capital Sun and the bill's legislative history. Asked in a House committee about the bill's odds with the governor, Foreman said, "I won't speak on behalf of the gentleman on the second floor. But I guess I would term it this way. If I was — no disrespect intended here — but if I was going to Vegas, I would have really good odds."

In 2026 he was the floor sponsor of Senate Bill 1233, the Constitutional Courts Act, which would have barred Idaho courts at any level from enforcing, considering, or applying a judgment, decree, ruling, or arbitration decision based on a body of religious or cultural law that does not fully conform with constitutional rights. The Judiciary and Rules Committee recommended it for passage before it reached the floor. The bill failed on the Senate floor, 15-19-1, on Feb. 11, 2026, with Sen. Wintrow absent and excused, according to the bill's legislative history.

COVID-19 study committee

Foreman co-chaired, with Rep. Barbara Ehardt, the Legislature's COVID-19 Response Study Committee created by SCR 102 in 2025. The committee's Nov. 5, 2025 report found, by votes of its members, that closing houses of worship violated the First Amendment (8-2), that closing businesses violated the U.S. Constitution (9-1), that a statewide quarantine violated both the U.S. and Idaho Constitutions (8-2), and that the Coronavirus Financial Advisory Committee, which spent $1.25 billion in federal COVID relief funds, violated Idaho code (10-0).

Abortion legislation

In 2024, Foreman introduced Senate Bill 1229, which would have struck the exception that allows an abortion in a reported case of rape or incest from both Idaho's abortion statute and its fetal heartbeat law, according to the bill text. Under the existing law the bill would have amended, an abortion outside the remaining exceptions is a felony punishable by two to five years in prison. The bill was referred to the State Affairs Committee on Jan. 17, 2024, and received no further action.

On his Idaho Republican Party candidate page, in his own words, Foreman names closing Idaho's current legal exceptions for abortion in cases of rape or incest as his stated top priority for the next legislative session.

Sources

• Idaho State Legislature, official member page confirming Foreman's district, committees, and biography
• Idaho Secretary of State, certified election results for Foreman's races from 2016 through 2024
• Idaho State Legislature, SB 1233, bill history and floor vote for the Constitutional Courts Act
• Idaho State Legislature, SB 1229, bill history for the 2024 abortion exceptions bill
• Idaho State Legislature, SB 1229 bill text, the amendment language removing the rape and incest exception
• Idaho State Legislature, SB 1210, bill history confirming the Senate and House votes and the Governor's signature
• Idaho Capital Sun, details on Senate Bill 1210 and Foreman's quoted comment on the bill
• Idaho Capital Sun, reporting on the May 2026 primary results
• Republican Party of Idaho, Foreman's candidate page listing his stated legislative priorities in his own words