Since securing the GOP nomination two weeks ago, Sanford has painted Colbert Busch as a liberal who is out of step with the 1st Congressional District. He has hammered Colbert Busch for accepting donations from organized labor and for supporting President Barack Obama’s health care bill.

The approach is Sanford’s attempt to shift the focus of the race on issue — a battle he’s much more likely to win —and away from his well-publicized personal troubles.

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reset Sanford: I'm a wounded warrior

But the news of the alleged trespassing once again thrusts Sanford’s damaged family life to the forefront of the campaign. It threatens to undercut his already shaky support among women, who polls show are unenthusiastic about voting for an admitted adulterer.

And, most dangerous of all, it undermines what had been the driving theme of the ex-governor’s campaign: that he has learned from his personal mistakes and put them behind him.

“The reason this is bad is because it takes all of Sanford’s problems in the past and takes them right into the present,” said one GOP official. “Every dollar that he’s spent reforming his image has been wiped away.”

Sanford’s bid isn’t necessarily a lost cause, mainly because because of the district’s conservative tilt — it backed Mitt Romney over Barack Obama by 18 percentage points. Internal GOP polling in recent weeks has shown him with a small lead over Colbert Busch.

But that was before the Jenny Sanford bombshell.

Until Tuesday, she had mostly stayed out of the race; she told Roll Call recently that she had no plans to endorse in the contest. But her complaints about her ex-husband’s conduct in the wake of their divorce has been a source of quiet concern among Republicans.

In Feb. 2011, Jenny Sanford’s lawyer sent a letter to Mark Sanford and police asking the former governor not to trespass at her Sullivan’s Island home. Later that year, she filed another complaint saying Mark Sanford had not paid his stipulated $5,000 annual contribution to his son’s college fund. Her most recent complaint accuses Sanford of “a pattern” of trespassing.

Sanford addressed the February incident in a statement Wednesday.

“It’s an unfortunate reality that divorced couples sometimes have disagreements that spill over into family court,” he said. “I did indeed watch the second half of the Super Bowl at the beach house with our 14 year old son because as a father I didn’t think he should watch it alone. Given she was out of town I tried to reach her beforehand to tell her of the situation that had arisen, and met her at the back steps under the light of my cell phone when she returned and told her what had happened.

“There is always another side to every story, and while I am particularly curious how records that were sealed to avoid the boys dealing with embarrassment are now somehow exposed less than three weeks before this election, I agree with Jenny that the media is no place to debate what is ultimately a family court matter, and out of respect for Jenny and the boys, I’m not going to have any further comment at this time,” Sanford said.

Word of the trespassing complaint left some Republicans speechless.

“This makes Mark Sanford’s already complicated candidacy even more so,” said a second GOP operative.