Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersKenosha will be a good bellwether in 2020 Biden's fiscal program: What is the likely market impact? McConnell accuses Democrats of sowing division by 'downplaying progress' on election security MORE warned the Democratic Party against “moving toward the middle” when it comes to picking a vice presidential candidate for the general election.

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During an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle’s editorial board on Tuesday, the White House hopeful was asked whether he believed running mates should reflect the ideology of the party’s base or be picked based on their appeal to swing voters.

“I’ve always believed, very honestly, that good public policy is good politics,” he said. “And I think the Democrats should have a ticket of a presidential candidate and a vice presidential candidate who will speak to the needs of the vast majority of our people and not just the wealthy campaign contributors.”

“So my point is that I think the presidential candidate and the vice presidential candidate should be addressing the issues that are on the hearts and minds of the American people,” Sanders added. “I do not accept the concept, and I know many do, of ‘You gotta move toward the middle,’ because not only do I disagree with that ideologically, I think it’s bad politics.”

The Vermont senator emphasized that the brand of progressive politics that he’s been championing has a broad appeal, as demonstrated by his popularity among independents.

“I think you win votes when you talk about raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour,” Sanders continued. “You win votes when you talk about creating millions of jobs by rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure. You win votes, maybe not for everybody at this table, by making it clear that public colleges and universities should be tuition-free. You win votes by saying that the wealthy and large corporations should start paying their fair share of taxes. So to me this is not just ideology — it is what I believe — I think it’s good politics as well.”

The presidential contender suggested this week that he would consider an offer to be on front-runner Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonWhat Senate Republicans have said about election-year Supreme Court vacancies Bipartisan praise pours in after Ginsburg's death Trump carries on with rally, unaware of Ginsburg's death MORE’s ticket if she wins the nomination.

"Right now, we are focused on the next five weeks of winning the Democratic nomination. If that does not happen, we are going to fight as hard as we can on the floor of the Democratic convention to make sure that we have a progressive platform that the American people will support," Sanders said this week in an interview with CNN. "Then, after that, certainly Secretary Clinton and I can sit down and talk and see where we go from there."