The founder and host of the left-leaning online show "The Young Turks" named tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) as the top winners of Thursday night's Democratic primary debate.

"The two big winners clearly were Andrew Yang and Bernie Sanders," Cenk Uygur told Hill.TV during an interview on "Rising."

"I know that no one else in Washington will agree, but that's because they're outsiders," he added.

Uygur went on to praise Yang's pilot plan for his universal basic income proposal. Yang announced during the debate that his campaign will give $1,000 a month to 10 American families for an entire year.

The announcement drew chuckles from Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.). South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) quipped, "It's original, I'll give you that" in response to the plan.

Yang also proposed giving every citizen $100 "democracy dollars" to donate to campaigns, saying it would eliminate corporate influence over the electoral process.

"I actually loved the idea by Andrew Yang that people made fun of the most," Uygur said referring to Yang's plan. "It's to help end corruption - it's a great idea."

Uygur also praised Sanders's "full-throated" attack on "corruption and corporate power and standing up for the average American."

Sanders has been gaining ground since the second debate, with a polling average of 17.3 percent, according recent data complied by RealClearPolitics. He stills trails Biden, who remains the front-runner, with a polling average of 27 percent support.

Yang, meanwhile, has continued to gain attention and seen higher number in recent weeks. In The Hill's own Hill-HarrisX poll, the entrepreneur received 5 percent support among Democratic and independent registered voters, his highest mark to date in the survey yet.

-Tess Bonn