Sen. Kay Hagan of North Carolina is one of five Senate Democrats running for reelection next year in a state Mitt Romney won in 2012. Yet she's flashed something of a blue streak lately, coming out in support of gay marriage, and pledging to vote for a bipartisan measure to expand background checks on gun purchases.

Following revelations that his ex-wife accused him of trespassing on her property earlier this year, former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford (R) has lost the support of his national party.

The news comes as controversy continues to swirl around Sanford and his personal life -- a process that began with his well-publicized 2009 affair but was inflamed, the Washington Post has learned, when one of the Sanfords' sons met Mark Sanford's former mistress for the first time the night he won the GOP nomination.

Another Vagina-gate?

A New Hampshire legislator -- male -- uses the word "vaginas" as a synonym for women in an internal e-mail sent to fellow legislators. A Michigan legislator -- female -- says the word while arguing against a bill that would restrict abortion rights, and was reprimanded and banned from speaking on the House floor for a day.

Former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford (R) has released his first public comment since the Associated Press reported late Tuesday that his ex-wife filed a trespassing complaint against him this year.

Updated at 12:33 p.m.: Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) announced Wednesday that they will vote against the gun control compromise spearheaded by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), all but assuring the measure won't pass.

The 2014 election cycle is off to a fast start, with candidates for House and Senate ramping up their fundraising in the first quarter. In fact, most top Senate candidates have already raised more than a million dollars.

Former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford's (R) ex-wife has accused him of trespassing on her property, and Sanford is due in court two days after the looming special election, according to AP.

Jenny Sanford's lawyer filed documents in court following an alleged altercation on Feb. 3, and she confirmed the documents' authenticity to AP. Post Politics was not able to reach Jenny Sanford immediately.

President Obama will expand his charm offensive to his own party Wednesday night when he breaks bread with 12 Democratic senators at the upscale Jefferson Hotel in downtown Washington.

Obama's dinner with Democrats, just weeks after two recent dinners he held with a dozen Republican senators each, comes as he is promoting his budget, which angered some Democratic lawmakers because of his offer to trim Social Security benefits.

Twenty four hours removed from the bombings near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, an all-too-familiar pattern has begun to unfold in the political world.

First comes the pause, a cessation in normal political activities that is accompanied by calls to put aside partisanship and band together as Americans.

President Obama's courtship of Republicans hit a critical point last week when he unveiled a budget proposal pitched as an effort at compromise. But a new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds Americans' initial reactions to the framework tilting negative, with broad opposition from Republicans and little public support for a key idea to reduce increases in Social Security payments.