Trish Carter-Goodheart

Trish Carter-Goodheart: Idaho Democratic Candidate for House District 6A

Trish Carter-Goodheart is a Democrat running for the Idaho House of Representatives in District 6A, which covers portions of Latah, Nez Perce, and Lewis counties in northern Idaho. Carter-Goodheart lives in Lapwai and is a citizen of the Nez Perce Tribe. She is a challenger with no prior state legislative experience and is seeking the Democratic nomination for the open seat vacated by Republican Rep. Lori McCann, who filed for the District 6 Senate race. She is one of three Democrats in the May 19, 2026, primary, alongside Bryce Blankenship and Ryan Wayne Augusta. Carter-Goodheart previously ran for the same seat in 2022 and 2024, per Ballotpedia. The Republican primary field for the seat includes former Rep. Cindy Agidius and Colton Bennett.

Background

Carter-Goodheart was born and raised in Lapwai, Idaho, and has lived and worked in the community her entire life, as described on her campaign website. She works as a community fundraiser and grant writer and also operates a small business. She is married to Dayne Carter-Goodheart and has two children.

She has served on the board of the National Indian Child Welfare Association since 2008, starting as a youth board member and remaining after being asked to continue in a regular board role. Her board work has focused on the organization's public policy committee, covering legislative decisions, fundraising, and program development. She has also served as a Democratic precinct committeewoman since 2012, per voter guide records.

Political Career

Carter-Goodheart has not held state legislative office. She ran for Idaho House District 6A in 2022, losing the general election to Republican incumbent Lori McCann by approximately 59.5 to 40.5 percent, per Ballotpedia. In 2024 she won the Democratic primary unopposed and again lost the general election to McCann, 64.8 to 35.2 percent, according to the Idaho Secretary of State's elections database. In the 2024 general, independent write-in Ryan Augusta also appeared on the ballot. She filed for the seat again in 2026, now in a contested three-way Democratic primary.

Policy Positions

In response to the Idaho Capital Sun's 2024 voter guide, Carter-Goodheart listed her top three budget priorities as reducing grocery costs and taxes, increasing funding for education and libraries, and improving access to comprehensive healthcare. She opposed public funding for private education, saying that "public dollars need to stay in public schools" and that diverting funds to voucher programs takes critical resources away from schools that serve all children.

On climate and energy, she told the Capital Sun that Idaho is already experiencing the effects of climate change through more frequent wildfires, heat-related illness, and changes in invasive species, and she called for investment in renewable energy workforce training. On election law, she supported Proposition 1 in 2024, stating that ranked choice voting gives voters more flexibility and a greater say in representation. On abortion, she has stated that decisions should be made between a patient and their healthcare provider and has supported adding health exceptions to Idaho's abortion laws, per iVoterGuide records. On the Idaho National Guard deployment to the southern border, she called it "political theater" that diverted resources from Idaho's own public safety needs.

As of April 2026, detailed public statements on water rights, immigration, or agriculture policy are not available in the public record.

Political Alignment

Carter-Goodheart is best classified as a Mainstream Democrat. Her stated positions on public education funding, opposition to school vouchers, support for Medicaid access, healthcare rights, protection of public lands, and climate investment are consistent with standard Idaho Democratic platform positions. Her endorsements in prior cycles from Conservation Voters for Idaho and Advance Native Political Leadership, and her 2024 endorsement from Sen. Melissa Wintrow, reflect conventional Democratic Party infrastructure. Her campaign has also emphasized tribal representation and rural community needs, grounding her candidacy in the specific character of District 6.

Campaign and Endorsements

In 2024, Carter-Goodheart received endorsements from Conservation Voters for Idaho, Advance Native Political Leadership, and Sen. Melissa Wintrow, per iVoterGuide. The Idaho Democratic Party identified District 6 as a targeted swing district in 2024, with outreach focused on Native and Latino voter turnout, according to the Idaho Capital Sun. Ballotpedia has not listed 2026 endorsements as of publication.

Public Controversies or Criticism

During a bipartisan candidate forum in Kendrick on September 30, 2024, then-Idaho Sen. Dan Foreman rose and yelled at Carter-Goodheart after she spoke about discrimination and the history of extremist groups in northern Idaho. Carter-Goodheart said Foreman told her to "go back where you came from." Foreman denied making racist remarks in a subsequent Facebook post but left the event early and did not respond to an Associated Press request for comment, as reported by the AP via ICT News. Republican Rep. Lori McCann, who was present, told the Lewiston Tribune that Carter-Goodheart's account was accurate. The incident received statewide and national media coverage during the 2024 campaign cycle.