Mark Warner

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., was pressed on the Democratic Party’s embrace of socialist candidates during an interview on Tuesday as he clashed with CNBC host Joe Kernen over some left-wing policies being proposed on the campaign trail.

Warner argued that Democrats have failed to adequately deliver on certain issues and argued that socialism has become more popular because of the party’s shortcomings.

He said that at least there was an ideological debate happening in the Democratic Party, unlike on the Republican side, and dodged a question about whether he supported far-left Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.

“I have stayed out of all of these races, I’m just not, I’m running myself this year, I’m trying to get re-elected myself in Virginia and that’s where my focus is,” Warner said…

Warner said he believed in a free enterprise system and said that “our modern capitalism ought to be more focused on, you know, long-term investment.”

“I think there are ways, and some — you might call it radical, to actually make our capitalism work for more people,” he continued. “And I think we got to acknowledge that people like you and I, Joe, get a certain advantage. White guys with right education get a better advantage in our system and to deny that, I just think that shows — I’m not saying you do — but I think that shows a disconnection from reality as well.”