Sanders, Clinton sharpened their rhetorical knives for latest debate

Last night’s Democratic debate sounded a lot more like the Republican verbal jousts, at least in tone, with Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders trading barbs and getting testy as they scrabble to win their party’s presidential nomination.

“Let’s have some facts instead of some rhetoric for a change,” Clinton snapped at Sanders at one point.

“Let me tell my story, you tell yours,” Sanders shot back at another. “Your story is voting for every disastrous trade amendment and voting for corporate America.”

Although Clinton remains the clear front-runner, the senator from Vermont made some gains in Saturday’s primaries and caucuses, picking up two big wins and 47 delegates. But he still trails Clinton 499 to 1,130 in the overall delegate tally.

During Sunday’s debate, both candidates tried to make the case that they offer the best chance to beat Donald Trump in November, should he win the Republican nomination. And while their rhetoric did get a little heated, it did not devolve into the personal attacks that have characterized recent meetings of GOP candidates—a difference Clinton noted.

“Compare the substance of this debate with what you saw on the Republican stage last week,” she said.

Sanders quipped the GOP debates proved the country’s need to spend more money on mental healthcare—a zinger both candidates could laugh at.

During early debates, Clinton and Sanders often sounded more like running mates than opponents, but as the primary has worn on—and Sanders has not fallen by the wayside as some strategists predicted he would—their disagreements have become increasingly sharp.

Sanders went on the offensive early last night, and while Clinton fired back, it mostly was from a defensive stance. Sanders continued to harp on Clinton’s ties to Wall Street, insisting her friends in the financial world “destroyed the economy.”

Clinton jabbed at Sanders’ voting record in the Senate, noting he hadn’t supported the 2009 auto industry bailout.

“If everybody had voted the way he did, I believe the auto industry would have collapsed, taking 4 million jobs with it,” Clinton said.

Unabashed, Sanders said the money dolled out to carmakers came from a larger bailout package for the financial industry, funds he refused to take from hardworking Americans and give to “the crooks on Wall Street.”

The debate took place in Flint, Mich., where a toxic water scandal has sickened residents and led to accusations of political malfeasance. Both Clinton and Sanders called for Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, to resign.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.