Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is unsure what to make of Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) recent surge in the polls and told CNN on Wednesday that it could have something to do with her status as a woman.

Sanders tried to make sense of Warren’s recent surge during a Wednesday appearance on CNN. Chris Cuomo asked him if people view Warren as a “more electable version” of himself.

Instead of answering the question, Sanders brought up Warren’s status as a woman, subtly implying people may be supporting her simply because of that.

“I think we are running against a lot of problems. I think that there are a certain number of people who would like to see a woman elected. I understand that,” Sanders explained, adding that people might be looking for a “younger” candidate as well.

“There are people who would like to see somebody who is younger, and I understand that also,” he said. “There are a lot of factors out there.”

Sanders added that Warren is a “friend” and gave her props for “running a good campaign.”

“But at the end of the day, Chris – whether it’s Biden or Elizabeth Warren or anybody else – what I believe is that, in fact, I am the strongest candidate to defeat Donald Trump,” Sanders said. “And I think some of the polling shows that.”

While Sanders has found himself in second place rather consistently, recent polls indicate that he is beginning to lose his footing. An Economist/YouGov Poll released Thursday shows Warren overtaking Sanders 16 percent to 12 percent.

As Breitbart News reported:

The survey also asked respondents to list the candidate or candidates they are “considering” voting for in the Democrat primary. Just over half – 52 percent – said they were considering Biden, while 45 percent said they were considering Warren. Once again, Sanders falls down a notch, with 38 percent considering Harris compared to Sanders’ 35 percent. This is the second poll in a week that shows Warren overtaking Sanders. A poll conducted by The Economist and YouGov last week had strikingly mirrored results, with Sanders falling behind Warren with 12 percent support.

The current Real Clear Politics average shows Sanders in second place with 15 percent support.

