Five candidates hoping to win Democratic Rep. Ruben Kihuen’s House seat joined in a spirited forum in North Las Vegas on Tuesday.

The Clark County Black Caucus hosted the event in a mostly full auditorium at Cheyenne High School. Panelists from groups including the 100 Black Men of Las Vegas nonprofit and the school’s Black Student Union offered up questions ranging from how the candidates would deal with disproportionately high unemployment in the African American community to how they would improve elder care.

Participants included former Rep. Steven Horsford, who served one term after being elected to the district in 2012, and state Sen. Pat Spearman, a veteran and pastor who is in her second four-year term in the Legislature.

Also at the forum: Amy Vilela, a progressive candidate best known for her advocacy of Medicare for All, John Anzalone, a Sierra Vista High School principal who is out front on school safety issues and Rodney Smith, a veteran and repeat candidate who was the only attendee not running as a Democrat (he said he’s running as an independent).

While Democratic North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee and higher education regent Allison Stephens have said they’re exploring a run for the seat, neither participated in the forum.

Here are some of the questions and answers from the two-hour forum:

Can you be effective as a freshman under Trump?

Candidates were asked how they would deal with the fact they’d likely serve under Republican President Trump and their party could be in the minority, making it difficult to accomplish a Democratic agenda.

Anzalone said that it’s important to elect “more moderate and more realistic” Democrats to office, at least until 2020 when the country can elect a Democratic president.

“When we go to Washington, whoever it is, has to understand what we can and cannot do,” he said. “That way if we are bipartisan and work with both sides of the aisle, make some compromises, we can get more done than going in with a hardline fight.”

Horsford hearkened back to his term in Congress, when Republicans held the reins.

“You can get stuff done as a freshman in the minority in Congress. I did it,” he said, touting his work getting the Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument designation and addressing racial profiling in federal law enforcement.

He argued that Democrats could work with the Trump Administration to get things done.

“It’s not enough to be against Trump. We have to be for something as Democrats,” Horsford said.

Smith, who plans to run as an independent, said Congress should keep an open mind.

“Regardless of where the idea comes from, whether it’s Democrat or Republican, if it is a good idea, we should rally behind that idea,” he said.

Spearman, however, skipped over talk of compromise and called for the president’s ouster.

“He’s a crook, he’s a criminal. He needs to be impeached,” she said. “We need to stop acting like everything’s OK because it ain’t OK.”

Vilela said it was important to build coalitions now to ensure that, come 2020, there will be enough political force to pass progressive legislation such as Medicare for All.

Improving elder care

Asked what they would do to help the elderly, all candidates brought up personal stories.

Anzalone said his mother suffered a stroke and has been hospitalized twice in the last year.

“The Medicare system is broken and we need to fix that,” he said. “One thing that I feel is very important is home health care, and making sure that good, passionate people are there to help our elderly every step of the way.”

Horsford vowed to help preserve the federal health-care programs, saying they helped his grandmother live in a nursing home for 27 years after she had a debilitating stroke.

“But for Medicare and Social Security, I wouldn’t have been able to see my grandmother live as long as she did,” he said, adding that he’d also prioritize lowering the price of drugs. “Too many people are rationing their prescriptions or going without because they cannot afford their prescriptions.”

Smith lamented that the country’s health-care system was falling short of its potential.

“I believe in America and Americanism. I believe we’re the greatest country on earth. I believe we have the potential for the best Medicare,” he said. “It is a shame that not everybody is taken care of.”

Among her solutions, Spearman pointed to a bill she and fellow lawmakers passed last year that promotes insulin pricing transparency, and advocated for a system that rewards healthy lifestyles.

“Health care is a right, not a privilege,” she said. “One of the things I think is wrong with our system is that we don’t have a health-care system, we have a sick care system. I think what we need to do is back up, making sure we’re rewarding people for healthy lifestyles.”

Vilela mentioned her daughter who, before passing away at age 22, was a home health-care worker.

“We need to make sure that our home health-care workers are paid a liveable wage,” Vilela said.

She also pushed for fixing reimbursement models, saying they’re biased toward nursing homes and should instead be paying more to keep patients in their homes with family.

African-Americans in powerful campaign positions?

Candidates were asked whether they had African Americans in positions of influence in their campaigns.

Vilela said she had a mixed-race staff member and noted that she has both African-American and caucasian children.

Horsford answered yes, and said he had one of the most diverse congressional offices when he held the House seat.

“I believe in the value of diversity and the perspectives that every person can bring,” he said.

Anzalone noted that his field director and one of his top policy advisers is black, and that many of his students who are supporting his campaign are African American.

But perhaps the biggest audience response came when Spearman said her campaign manager, treasurer and consultant were all African-American women.

“It’s black girl magic, that’s what it is,” she said.

Medicare for All

Asked whether they support Medicare for All, Vilela said she was “100 percent yes” on the issue.

Spearman, too, said she was on board with the concept: “Health care is a human right,” she said.

Smith said he generally supported the idea as long as veterans are included in the proposal. Horsford also took that measured approach.

“I am for universal health-care coverage for all,” he said, adding that for veterans, if the “care they receive now is protected, and as long as we can address that, then I can support that legislation.”

Anzalone said he supports the concept but “I would like to first take a strong look at the Affordable Care Act and make sure we fix the missing pieces there.”

Opioid crisis

On a question about how they’d tackle the opioid crisis, candidates spoke out against “Big Pharma.”

“I’m not taking any corporate donations, including Big Pharma,” said Vilela. “We have to make sure we are fighting them, making sure we are putting restrictions and we have bargaining power. We do that at a government level.”

Horsford also vowed not to take donations from pharmaceutical companies.

Smith raised questions about the methods drugmakers are using to sell their products among doctors.

“In some ways, Big Pharma has become the modern day pusher that we used to see on the streets of old,” he said.

Spearman said she wanted to explore alternative treatment options.

“We need to be looking at more natural alternatives. That’s why I supported medical marijuana,” she said.