2016’s Top Candidates Struggle to Change the Subject

It wasn’t supposed to be this way.Nearly six months out from the first votes of a presidential campaign, candidates should be fleshing out who they are and what they stand for. Instead, some of the best-known 2016 candidates are toting hea...

In this Aug. 19, 2015 file photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks in Derry, N.H. Nearly six months out from the first votes of a presidential campaign, candidates should be fleshing out who they are and what they stand for. AP Photo/Mary Schwalm

WASHINGTON—It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

Nearly six months out from the first votes of a presidential campaign, candidates should be fleshing out who they are and what they stand for.

Instead, some of the best-known 2016 candidates are toting heavy baggage that’s proving to be a big distraction from the conversations they'd rather be having with the American people.

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