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ADAM: IN "CONVERSATION WITH THE CANDIDATE," NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTERS WANTED TO KNOW IF JOHN DELANEY IS JOINING THE REST OF THE FIELD OF DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES IN A HARD CHARGE TO THE IDEOLOGICAL LEFT. MR. DELANEY: -- >> WHERE ARE THE REAL DEMOCRATS RUNNING FOR OFFICE, SO WE CAN GET OUR PARTY BACK? MR. DELANEY: WELL, HERE IS ONE OF THEM. ADAM: THE FORMER THREE-TERM MARYLAND CONGRESSMAN CALLS HIMSELF A PROBLEM SOLVER, AND HE SAYS THE DISCUSSION OF SOCIALISM VERSUS CAPITALISM IS A DISTRACTION. MR. DELANE PURE SOCIALISM, RIGHT, IN ITS PURE FORM, WHICH IS GOVERNMENT CONTROLLING PRODUCTION, IS A TERRIBLE IDEA, AND IT IS THE WRONG ANSWER TO EVERY QUESTION. ADAM: A COLBY-SAWYER COLLEGE JUNIOR PRESSED DELANEY ON THE ISSUE OF STUDENT DEB >> WHAT POLICIES WOULD YOU IMPLEMENT TO COMBAT THE RISING COSTS OF TUITION, AND GENERALLY MAKE COLLEGE MORE AFFORDABLE? MR. DELANEY: SO THIS IS WHAT I WOULD DO. LET’S START WITH PUBLIC EDUCATION BROADL RIGHT? RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE K-12 AS THE BASIC PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM IN THIS COUNTRY. I THINK THAT SHOULD BE PRE-K THROUGH 14. ADAM: IN ADDITION TO EXPANDING PUBLIC COLLEGE, DELANEY SAYS HE ALSO HAS A PLAN FOR SHORING UP SOCIAL SECURIT MR. DELANEY: IT IS A PROBLEM. IT IS NOT AS BIG OF A PROBLEM AS PEOPLE LIKE TO SCARE YOU INTO THINKING, BUT IT IS A PROBLEM. AND I ACTUALLY, AGAIN, KIND OF COMING BACK TO THIS THEME OF KIND OF WORKING TOGETHER, I HAVE THE ONLY BIPARTISAN BILL IN THE CONGRESS THAT ACTUALLY DEALS WITH IT. ADAM: BECCA BUDROCK ASKED ABOUT MAKING FOOD SUPPLIES MORE LOCAL, AND DELANEY HAD AN ANSWER, SAYING U.S. FARM POLICY NEEDS TO CATCH UP WITH TECHNOLOGY TO EXPAND URBAN FARMING BECCA: I THINK IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT HE HAD IT ON HIS RADAR. I LOVED HIS ANSWER. ADAM: PRIMARY VOTERS WILL HAVE A LOT OF CHOICES IN 2020. LYN HEALY THINKS DELANEY IS HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. LYN: I THINK WE NEED TO COME BACK TO THE CENTER AND BE A LITTLE BIT MORE MODERATE. ADAM: ADAM SEXTON, WMUR NEWS 9. JEAN: YOU CAN WATCH OUR COMPLETE "CONVERSATION WITH THE CANDIDATE" WITH JOHN DELANEY THURSDAY AT 7:00 RIGHT HERE ON WMUR. THAT IS FOLLOWED BY AN EXTENDED HALF-HOUR AT 7:30 ON OUR WEBSITE, WMU

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Democratic presidential candidate John Delaney answered questions from voters Tuesday in New Hampshire.The former Maryland congressman spent an hour answering questions as part of WMUR's "Conversation With the Candidate" series.Voters wanted to know if Delaney is joining the rest of the field of Democratic presidential candidates in a hard charge to the ideological left. Delaney called himself a problem solver and said the discussion of socialism versus capitalism is a distraction."Pure socialism, in its pure form, which is government controlling production, is a terrible idea, and it's the wrong answer to every question," he said.Colby-Sawyer College junior Bronsen Stevens pressed Delaney on the issue of student debt, asking how he would make college more affordable."This is what I would do. Let's start with public education broadly," Delaney said. "Right now. we have K-12 as the basic public education system in this country. I think that should be pre-K through 14."In addition to expanding public college, Delaney said he has a plan for shoring up Social Security."It is a problem," he said. "It's not as big of a problem as people want to scare you into thinking, but it is a problem. And again, coming back to this theme of working together, I have the only bipartisan bill in the Congress that actually deals with it."Becca Budrock, of New London, asked about making food supplies more local, and Delaney had an answer, saying U.S. farm policy needs to catch up with technology to expand urban farming."I think it's really important that he had it on his radar," Budrock said. "I loved his answer."Based on the current field of announced and potential candidates, primary voters will have a lot of choices in 2020. Lyn Healy, of Bedford, said she thinks Delaney is headed in the right direction."We need to come back to the center and be a little bit more moderate," she said."Conversation With the Candidate" airs at 7 p.m. Thursday.