Former Vice President Joe Biden Joe BidenCast of 'Parks and Rec' reunite for virtual town hall to address Wisconsin voters Biden says Trump should step down over coronavirus response Biden tells CNN town hall that he has benefited from white privilege MORE said on Sunday that Democratic candidates would face a "bigger uphill climb" if Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersMcConnell accuses Democrats of sowing division by 'downplaying progress' on election security The Hill's Campaign Report: Arizona shifts towards Biden | Biden prepares for drive-in town hall | New Biden ad targets Latino voters Why Democrats must confront extreme left wing incitement to violence MORE (I-Vt.) wins the party's presidential nomination this year.

Biden, a Democratic candidate for president who has focused on making a case for his own electability, said Sanders labeling himself a Democratic Socialist could turn off voters in key swing states.

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"Look, I'm not putting that label on Bernie. He calls himself a Democratic Socialist. Now you've been around George, as much as anybody, you're going to win with that label?" Biden said to George Stephanopoulos on ABC's "This Week."

"You're going to help somebody in Florida with the label Democratic Socialist? It's going to go all the way down the line. That's what's going to happen. You're going to win in North Carolina? You're going to win in Pennsylvania? You're going to win in those states in the midwest?"

.@GStephanopoulos: "So you think flat out Democrats can't defeat Trump if they have to defend socialism?"



Joe Biden: "I think it's going to be incredibly more difficult." https://t.co/nPQ57Pvs7t pic.twitter.com/bZvoDVs4mJ — This Week (@ThisWeekABC) February 9, 2020

Stephanopoulos asked Biden, "So you think flat out Democrats can't defeat Trump if they have to defend socialism?"

"I think it's going to be incredibly more difficult," Biden responded.

"If I don't get the nomination and Bernie gets it I'm going to work like hell for him, but I tell you what, it's a bigger uphill climb, running as a senator or congressperson or governor on a ticket that calls itself a Democratic Socialist ticket."