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 Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonFox News poll: Biden ahead of Trump in Nevada, Pennsylvania and Ohio Trump, Biden court Black business owners in final election sprint The power of incumbency: How Trump is using the Oval Office to win reelection MORE 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 Joe BidenPelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Hillicon Valley: Subpoenas for Facebook, Google and Twitter on the cards | Wray rebuffs mail-in voting conspiracies | Reps. raise mass surveillance concerns Fox News poll: Biden ahead of Trump in Nevada, Pennsylvania and Ohio MORE 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 Donald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE 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