HONOLULU - In heavily Democratic Hawaii, Republican candidates often face an uphill battle in elections. But Republican Charles Djou, who is running for a seat in the U.S. Congress, said his political affiliation could be an asset for the state.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Statewide political candidates Wednesday got a chance to say how they would shape the future for Alaskans who won't even be able to vote for at least four years.

WASHINGTON - The House on Wednesday took the first step in a bipartisan drive to fix its broken process for handling the $1 trillion provided to federal agencies each year for their day-to-day operations.

CARY, North Carolina - A U.S. Senate candidate favored among tea party followers in North Carolina says he'll get help from one of the national movement's leaders on the last full day of primary campaigning.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted 75-20 to confirm Maine Supreme Judicial Court Justice Jon Levy's nomination to serve as a federal judge in Maine.

SPOKANE, Washington - The U.S. Senate has confirmed a Wenatchee attorney as a new judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.

WASHINGTON - Senate Republicans derailed a Democratic drive Wednesday to raise the federal minimum wage, blocking a cornerstone of President Barack Obama's economic plans and ensuring the issue will be a major feature of this fall's congressional elections.

LANSING, Michigan - A spokeswoman says Republican U.S. Senate candidate Terri Lynn Land opposes Democratic legislation to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, but there's "room" for a smaller increase.

WASHINGTON - Senate Republicans on Wednesday slammed President Barack Obama's response to Russian aggression as timid and insufficient, and offered an alternative that would impose sanctions on banking and energy sectors and provide weapons to Ukraine.

OMAHA, Nebraska - In the final weeks before Nebraska's primary election, the top two candidates in the Republican U.S. Senate race have turned from polite opposition to open hostility in a state known for its distaste of negative campaigning.

WASHINGTON - Sen. Susan Collins and Angus King of Maine say they're looking for middle ground on a proposal to boost the federal minimum wage.

WASHINGTON - The White House has directed the CIA to declassify parts of a Senate report criticizing harsh interrogations of suspected terrorists, but history shows that the agency is accomplished at preventing embarrassing or damaging disclosures.

RALEIGH, North Carolina - U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers has endorsed Thom Tillis for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in North Carolina.

JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri - A renegade Republican teamed up with minority party Democrats on Wednesday to deliver the first affirmative - albeit symbolic - vote of the year for a plan to expand Missouri's Medicaid program to hundreds of thousands of lower-income adults.

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana - The Morganza-to-the-Gulf levee protection system, which has inched its way along the federal authorization process for decades, moved forward during a hearing before a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

MADISON, Wisconsin - Democrat Pat Bomhack, of Spring Green, is dropping out of what would have been a competitive state Assembly race to instead run for the state Senate seat being vacated by retiring Republican Sen. Dale Schultz.

BISMARCK, North Dakota - U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp says more than $2.5 million in federal funding will be provided for early childhood learning and development programs on two North Dakota reservations.

FRANKFORT, Kentucky - Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes' meeting with California billionaire Tom Steyer has prompted the Kentucky Coal Association to warn her not to accept donations from him or his climate-protection group.

WASHINGTON - Groups independent of the likely nominees in Colorado's Senate race are running ads that question the motives of the candidates, adding millions to what outside groups are already spending on negative television spots six months before Election Day.

BILLINGS, Montana - Democrats John Driscoll and John Lewis have spent much of their lives in politics, yet their paths to the June primary for Montana's sole U.S. House seat couldn't be more different.

WASHINGTON - Senators have dropped a demand for a public declaration of how many civilians the United States kills in CIA drone strikes each year after the U.S. intelligence chief expressed concerns, congressional aides said.

WASHINGTON - House Speaker John Boehner told Republican lawmakers Tuesday he was just teasing them when he lampooned their reluctance to act on immigration legislation, insisting that he blames President Barack Obama for inaction on the issue, not the GOP.

May 1

RALEIGH, North Carolina - North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory says he's backing Thom Tillis in the Republican primary for Senate in North Carolina.

HELENA, Montana - A real estate broker from Billings says he is abandoning his effort to gather enough signatures to run for a U.S. Senate seat as an Independent.