ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The four Democrats running for Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District faced off in a second debate Tuesday night, tackling issues such as Iran, ICE and health care before about 150 people at Cedar Crest College.
In a 90-minute debate, candidates Bob Brooks, Ryan Crosswell, Lamont McClure and Carol Obando-Derstine highlighted their campaigns and why voters should select them to face Republican incumbent Ryan Mackenzie in the November election.
And for the second time in a week, the candidates focused their fire on Mackenzie and President Donald Trump instead of each other.
The event was hosted by the Lehigh County Democratic Committee and moderated by independent journalist Ryan Gaylor.
For much of the night, the candidates proved to be in lockstep on most issues. At times, however, nuances between their policies and preferences peeked through.
The debate started before news broke of a two-week ceasefire in the military battle between the United States and Iran.
All four candidates expressed opposition to the conflict.
McClure and Crosswell called it an unconstitutional war while Obando-Derstine and Brooks criticized Trump for engaging in a fight with no clear justification or exit strategy.
Brooks expressed fears that his step-son in the Air Force would be deployed overseas while Crosswell, a Marine, contended the violence worked against America's security interests.
"Do you understand that this fake tough guy, chest-thumping brinksmanship puts us all at risk?" Crosswell said.
Questions on housing
On housing, Crosswell and Obando-Derstine said they wanted to expand low-income housing tax credits, or LIHTC. The subsidies are meant to encourage developers to create rental units for poorer households.
Crosswell also expressed support for the ROAD to Housing Act, a bipartisan bill that passed the U.S. Senate last year but has stalled in the U.S. House.
McClure pointed to his history of supporting programs for first-time homebuyers as a Northampton County councilman before saying the federal government needed to provide funding to local governments to support housing initiatives.
Brooks, president of the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association, said he's been advocating for the Helper Act.
The proposed bill would let first-responders and teachers qualify for mortgages without downpayments if they're a first-time home buyer. There already are similar policies for veterans
"If we can get that in place, then we could push it down the line to make that available for everybody," Brooks said.
Taking on immigration
The candidates jockeyed over their willingness to take on the Trump administration over its immigration policies.
McClure argued that Trump had "destroyed" the immigration system in America and that it needed to be rebuilt from scratch.
Brooks, meanwhile, contended that lawmakers needed to hold the Trump administration accountable for the deaths of American citizens at the hands of immigration officials by requiring them to testify before Congress.
Crosswell told the crowd that he's not waiting to take on ICE. His law firm is currently suing the federal government for violating the rights of the American public.
If elected, he said, he would continue to do the same from Washington.
Obando-Derstine recounted how her family immigrated to the United States from Colombia when she was 3 years old. Trump's haphazard ICE practices is a main reason she entered the race, Obando-Derstine said.
"It [immigration enforcement] needs to be legal, safe and humane, but what we're seeing is cruelty," she said. "He doesn't care if people are citizens or not. He's targeting people for the way they look."
Health care
On health care, Brooks, McClure and Obando-Derstine all voiced support for creating universal coverage.
Brooks has been endorsed by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, in part because of his support for a Medicare for All policy.
Crosswell instead favored a public option system in which government-funded health insurance would compete directly against private insurance companies.
McClure added that the first step should be reversing the cuts to Medicaid passed last year through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The law created new work requirements that are expected to limit access to the program and generate up to $1 trillion in reduced spending over a 10-year period.
The bill passed the U.S. House by one vote along partisan lines, with Mackenzie among the supporters.
"If it weren't for Mackenzie, that would not be the law today," McClure said. "Let us never let him off the hook for that."
Challenged credentials
Late in the debate, Gaylor pressed each of the candidates on his or her perceived weak points.
He challenged McClure about his administration of Gracedale, Northampton County's nursing home.
As a county councilman, McClure proved instrumental in keeping the facility county-owned. But during his tenure as executive, the facility drew national media coverage when it was ravaged during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gracedale currently operates on a provisional license, in part because of the county's struggles to meet minimum staffing standards.
McClure defended his record, saying he ensured Gracedale kept its doors open to care for the Lehigh Valley's most vulnerable seniors.
When the pandemic made nurses too sick to man the nursing home, he called in the national guard, he said.
"I am very proud of my record at Gracedale," McClure said. He said he had no regrets about his stewardship of the nursing home.
Lawsuit and residency
Brooks took a question about the lawsuit his former mother-in-law has filed against him seeking more than $162,000.
A Northampton County judge ruled in 2020 that Brooks and his ex-wife neglected to pay Carol Wiley for the Moore Township property where Brooks currently lives, a ruling affirmed in Pennsylvania Superior Court.
Wiley alleges in a new lawsuit that Brooks is trying to hide his assets by wrongfully moving the home into his wife's name.
Brooks called the litigation a joke and noted that his ex-wife, who also is on the hook for the money, is supporting him against her parents.
"While my political opponents — Ryan Mackenzie and the GOP — focus on my ex-in-laws, I'm concentrating on what things cost right here for people in Pennsylvania-7," Brooks said.
Gaylor questioned Crosswell on why Lehigh Valley Democrats should support him. Crosswell, a Pottsville native, didn't move to the Lehigh Valley until last spring, shortly before he launched his congressional campaign.
He was a registered Republican as recently as December 2024.
Crosswell has persistently downplayed the issue and did so again Tuesday night. He said his parents belonged to opposite political parties and noted that he competed in Allentown as a high school wrestler.
His campaign website features a photo of him protesting the Dobbs vs Jackson Supreme Court decision in 2022, which overturned 50 years of precedent on reproductive rights.
"I am, no pun intended, late to the party, but I am proud of it," Crosswell said. "This is the party that's fighting for people's rights, and this is the party that's fighting for democracy."
Capturing a divided district
Gaylor questioned Obando-Derstine's ability to stay competitive in the race. At the close of 2025, she trailed the other three Democratic candidates in campaign funding, despite entering the race before Brooks and Crosswell.
The 2024 race for PA-7 was among the most competitive — and expensive — races in the country, and the 2026 may top it.
Obando-Derstine said she is confident her campaign would be able to compete if she advances to the general election.
Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District is among the most sought-after districts in the country, and she said donors will support whomever proves themselves capable of winning the primary and flipping the district back to Democratic control.
Right now, she's focused on meeting voters in all corners of the district and gaining their support, she said.
"Once the general election comes, everyone coalesces," Obando-Derstine said. "There's a lot of outside groups sitting it out and waiting for the nominee to be selected."
Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District represents Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties plus a sliver of Monroe County.
It's widely viewed as one of the most competitive districts in the country, thanks to its near-equal numbers of registered Democrats and Republicans and its unusually large population of independent voters.
Eligible voters have until May 4 to register ahead of the May 19 primary. Only voters registered to a political party can participate in that party's primary election.
