The founder of the progressive online channel “The Young Turks” called on voters to choose a progressive candidate and warned Democrats to avoid a repeat of 2016.
“Don’t make the same mistake we made in 2016,” Cenk Uygur told Hill.TV’s Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti during an interview Friday. “All of the media told you that Hillary Clinton was the more electable candidate. The polls showed the opposite but the media said, ‘No, don’t believe your lying eyes, believe in my alternative facts instead.’ And we were right and they were wrong.”
Uygur said Clinton and former Vice President Joe Biden are essentially the same candidate when it comes to policy, arguing that both candidates have sought to maintain the status quo of the party. He added that the only way for President Trump to win reelection is if Democrats nominate a mainstream candidate who “appears to be to the average person an elitist.”
“Do not make that same mistake,” Uygur said. “Vote for a progressive who says, ‘I’m going to fight for you.’”
Polling shows Biden has emerged as the frontrunner in the field of two dozen Democratic candidates seeking the party’s nomination.
A Quinnipiac University national survey released this week found that Biden would hold a 13-point advantage over Trump if the elections were held today.
But some Democrats are cautioning the party not to put too much faith in the polling.
“Anyone who believes that the Democratic candidate is headed for a landslide victory right now is doomed to repeat the tragic history of 2016,” Democratic pollster Chris Kofinis told The Hill.
—Tess Bonn
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