As much as Hillary Clinton’s camp would like to knock Bernie Sanders out of contention with a big victory in the looming New York primary election, the Vermont Senator continues to assert himself as a credible threat to the former Secretary of State’s bid for the presidency. Sanders pushed back against his rival’s steady stream of attacks on Sunday morning, iterating a scathing repudiation of key differences between his positions and those of Hillary Clinton. Although Bernie Sanders has long expressed a desire to take the proverbial “high road” with respect to his overall campaign strategy, his comments on CBS Face the Nation suggested that a more negative tack is forthcoming as the primary season enters its final phase.

“You know, I have become a little bit tired of being beaten up by the negativity of the Clinton campaign,” Sanders said “And we’re responding in kind.”

Democratic presidential candidate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks during a campaign rally at Snug Harbor's Great Hall on April 17, 2016 in the Staten Island borough of New York City. Clinton was ranked as one of the most unliked candidates in a recent poll, along with Republican front-runner Donald Trump. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Returning to a lingering point of contention between the candidates, Bernie Sanders noted Hillary Clinton’s close ties to Wall Street, suggesting that her mingling with powerful corporations and institutions is inconsistent with the pressing needs of working class Americans.

“Look, if you can go before Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley and end up after an hour’s work, or 20 minutes’ work, with a $225,000 check and that’s your life — and then refuse to support the fight for $15, the need to have a $15-an-hour national min wage — well, I think you’re living in a world far removed from where working people are,” he said.

Bernie Sanders has previously criticized Hillary Clinton for refusing to release transcripts from paid, closed-door speeches to organizations like Goldman Sachs, most recently in the midst of a tense exchange during their debate in New York.

“There are certain expectations when you run for president,” Clinton said according to the transcript published by CNN. “This is a new one. And I’ve said, if everybody agrees to do it — because there are speeches for money on the other side. I know that.”

Hillary Clinton then changed the subject to the matter of Bernie Sanders’ tax returns, challenging him to make those documents public. After promising to do so, Sanders released his 2014 federal income tax return the following day, effectively revealing that he had earned less in one full year than Hillary Clinton made in a single speech to a big Wall Street firm.

Two recent polls indicate that Bernie Sanders would easily defeat Donald Trump in a general election. (Photo by Matthew Cavanaugh/Getty Images)

Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are locked in a battle for a pivotal cache of delegates at stake in the New York primary, where both individuals have deep-rooted personal and political histories. Given a wide and evolving range of data, it is difficult to predict with certainty which candidate will emerge victorious after the votes are counted on Tuesday night. Aggregate data from Real Clear Politics indicate Clinton has a decisive edge over Sanders, but he has gained on the party front-runner since March, and his camp is pinning their collective hopes upon the momentum gained from previous victories. Still, even Bernie Sanders himself acknowledges that he is a long shot, due in part to New York’s rules regarding how independents can vote in the primary election.

“Even here in New York state you have a voting system which makes it impossible for independents to participate in the Democratic primary, that makes it impossible for people to register on the day of election which many states do, which is going to result in a lower voter turnout than I would like to see,” Sanders said.

After the New York primary, things do not get any easier for Bernie Sanders, as he also trails Hillary Clinton in polls for the upcoming contests in Pennsylvania and California.

[Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images]