[VIDEO IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]

Bernie Sanders has a difficult path to the Democratic presidential nomination, as things stand. But that doesn’t mean he’s going to cede his screen time at debates to Hillary Clinton.

Sanders was assertive — and at times outright feisty — as he shut down any attempt by Clinton to interrupt him during Sunday’s debate in Flint, Mich. When defending himself from accusations that he voted against the auto industry bailout, he quickly stopped Clinton from interrupting him. “Excuse me, I’m talking,” he quickly interjected. “Let me tell my story; you tell yours.”

“Wait a minute,” he asserted later in the exchange. “Can I finish? You’ll have your turn.”

As the battle for delegates has become more feverish (especially with Clinton’s large lead among super delegates and big wins on Super Tuesday), Sanders has increasingly looked for a game-changer to help him secure the Democratic nomination. Some say Clinton’s lead already looks unassailable, but Sanders was defiant at Sunday’s debate and seemed far from willing to concede the nomination, going as far as to cite polls that say he would beat Republican front-runner Donald Trump.

With several major contests looming, including big swing states such as Florida and Ohio, Sanders wants to take all the momentum he can out of this debate. And that apparently starts with not letting Clinton interrupt him on the debate stage.

(c) 2016, The Washington Post · Peter W. Stevenson