Five candidates for Indiana’s 9th Congressional District talked science, health care and climate policy Tuesday night at a forum hosted by Concerned Scientists at IU.

Though incumbent Rep. Erin Houchin was invited, she did not attend the forum.

Democratic candidate Jim Graham said Congress needs to stop turning everything into a political fight.

“Congress is broken,” he said. “We’re not getting things done need to be done for the citizens of this country where everything becomes a political issue.”

Democratic candidate Brad Meyer said science is under direct attack.

“We have to understand this is an ideological battle,” he said. “This is not an economic battle at this point.”

Meyer said the federal government should protect research funding, academic freedom and science-based decision making.

Democratic candidate Tim Peck, an emergency physician, said the challenge is not just protecting scientific research, but earning public trust in it.

“The deeper challenge is helping people understand it, trust it, see how it applies to their farms and their jobs and their food and their health and their freedoms,” he said.

Peck also called for stronger investment in public health and protecting scientific independence.

Democratic candidate Keil Roark said he wants policy built around evidence.

“I want to follow the data, where it goes, where it lies,” he said.

Roark said Congress needs more people with technical backgrounds and a stronger focus on STEM education.

Independent candidate Floyd Taylor said federal policy should be based on research and scientific integrity.

“Science isn’t just a body of knowledge,” he said. “It’s our best method for understanding the world and solving problems.”

Taylor also called for stronger protections for government scientists and more stable research funding.

The candidates also split over climate change, data centers and nuclear power. But all five said science should play a larger role in how Congress makes decisions.

The district’s Democratic primary is May 5.