‘Corn, soybeans and landmines’: Dems sweat early state blunders

With two sets of debates and six months of fundraising finished, a new stage is opening in the Democratic presidential primary: The summer slog.

For six weeks until the next debate, in mid-September, candidates will shift their focus more completely to the early primary states, grinding through a ritualistic run of picnics, forums, and party fundraisers: The Wing Ding, the Iowa State Fair, the Summer Sizzler, Londonderry’s Old Home Days.

For the frontrunners, the rigors of a month full of intimate, often less scripted public appearances will present a significant...