Robert Dolton Foster (born April 8, 1983) is an American politician from the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, he served in the

Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected fo ...

. He was an unsuccessful candidate for

governor of Mississippi A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

in the 2019 election.

Political career

Foster was first elected to the Mississippi House in November 2015. In 2017, Foster authored the current Mississippi death penalty law, which allows for

executions Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

gas chamber A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or other animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. Poisonous agents used include hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide. Histor ...

electrocution Electrocution is death or severe injury caused by electric shock from electric current passing through the body. The word is derived from "electro" and "execution", but it is also used for accidental death. The term "electrocution" was coined ...

, and

firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are us ...

. Foster also introduced legislation in 2017 that would have “remove affirmative action, multiculturalism and sanctuary of illegal alien students” from public universities in the state, though the bill didn't pass. Foster runs Cedar Hill Farm, an agritourism business in

DeSoto County, Mississippi DeSoto County is a county located on the northwestern border of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 161,252, making it the third-most populous county in Mississippi. Its county seat is Hernando. DeSoto Cou ...

. During the 2019 Mississippi gubernatorial election, Foster portrayed himself as a conservative

outsider Outsider(s) may refer to: Film * ''Outsider'' (1997 film), a 1997 Slovene-language film * ''Outsider'' (2012 film), a Malayalam-language Indian film * ''Outsiders'' (1980 film), a South Korean film featuring Won Mi-kyung Literature * Outside ...

aligned with

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

. As a gubernatorial candidate, Foster's for

Medicaid expansion In the context of American public healthcare policy, Medicaid coverage gap refers to uninsured people who reside in states which have opted out of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), who are both ineligible for Medicaid unde ...

received criticism from fellow Mississippi Republican

Chris McDaniel Christopher Brian McDaniel (born June 28, 1971) is an American attorney, talk radio host, and far-right politician who has served in the Mississippi State Senate since 2008. A member of the Republican Party, McDaniel gained national attention ...

. Foster explained his support by arguing:

"We're sticking our head in the sand because we don't like the policy of Obamacare. I think it's bad policy. The ACA is bad policy that had a lot of flaws, but it is the law of the land, and Mississippi is going to have to do what's in our best interest until that law is changed in Washington."

Controversies

2019 journalist controversy

Foster received national attention in July 2019 when he refused to allow a female journalist from ''

Mississippi Today Mississippi Today is a nonprofit news organization based in Ridgeland, Mississippi. It was founded in 2016 by former NBC chairman Andrew Lack. It is focused on watchdog journalism related to Mississippi's state and local government, economy, e ...

'' to interview him alone, which she said constituted sexism. Foster said that his position was grounded in a fear that he could be accused of being in an "inappropriate relationship" if he was seen alone with a woman other than his wife, something he called the

Billy Graham rule The Modesto Manifesto or Billy Graham rule is a code of conduct among men, in which they avoid spending time alone with women to whom they are not married. It is adopted as a display of integrity, a means of avoiding sexual temptation, to avoid ...

2022 call to execute trans rights supporters

On March 24, 2022, Foster tweeted that

trans rights A transgender person is someone whose gender identity is inconsistent or not culturally associated with the sex they were assigned at birth and also with the gender role that is associated with that sex. They may have, or may intend to establi ...

supporters should be executed by firing squad. When confronted by fellow Republican Spencer Ritchie, he called him a

RINO Rino may refer to: * Rino (given name) * Republican In Name Only, a pejorative term for U.S. Republicans considered to be insufficiently conservative * Rino, a singer-songwriter who performs under CooRie * RiNo, the River North Art District north ...

who has conceded power to communists. Foster also said that executing trans rights supporters would be an early divine judgment.

References

External links

Living people 1983 births Politicians from Memphis, Tennessee People from Hernando, Mississippi University of Mississippi alumni Republican Party members of the Mississippi House of Representatives 21st-century American politicians {{Mississippi-politician-stub