WASHINGTON — Bernie Sanders proved this week he can fill his bank account as fast as he can fill an arena.
The challenge now for the independent senator from Vermont is to convert all that money — he has $27 million to spend — into a winning campaign for president.
That won’t be easy in a Democratic race against Hillary Rodham Clinton, an experienced White House candidate who is significantly ahead in the buildout of her operations, as financial reports filed Thursday with federal regulators show.
Clinton, the former secretary of state and senator from New York, has about five times as many employees as does Sanders, as well as offices across the country and powerful voter research tools already in place.