The latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll “shows an angry electorate that blames Washington for much of its pain. And with their blood boiling and Election Day only three months away, voters look ready to do… maybe not too much.”

“For all the displeasure with the country’s general direction – more than 70% say the country is on the wrong track, only 40% approve of the job President Barack Obama is doing and only 14% approve of Congress – there is less interest in this November’s voting than there was at this time in 2010. And that’s true across Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives and all age groups.”

Brendan Nyhan wonders why President Obama would risk taking executive action on immigration before the midterm elections.

“Of course, Mr. Obama faces short-term pressures to address the surge in migrant children being detained at the border, but news media reports suggest that the policy changes under consideration would be far broader, potentially providing legal status to many of the nation’s undocumented immigrants. Such a broad executive action could provoke a backlash in the midterm elections that might be avoided with a move just a few months later.”

“It’s easy to overstate the effects of policy on electoral outcomes, but there is a recent worst-case example: the passage of the Affordable Care Act. Research that I conducted with a group of political scientists found that the Republican landslide in 2010 was strengthened by health care reform.”

Sen. Lamar Alexander’s (R-TN) “convincing win over his tea party challengers in Thursday’s Republican primary sets up another battle the two-term incumbent is expected to win,” the Tennessean reports.

“But even though the Tennessee Democratic Party remains undermanned compared with the state’s dominant Republicans, it at least will have a candidate this fall who’s not a national joke — something the party couldn’t say two years ago.”

Roll Call: “His victory means no Republican senators have lost a primary challenge, ending the tea party’s streak at two cycles. None of the remaining primaries feature a Republican senator.”

Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-TN) “was clinging to what appeared to be a narrow victory over challenger Jim Tracy (R), defeating the state senator by 35 votes,” the Tennessean reports.

“The results are unofficial. Tennessee does not have an automatic recount law, but a candidate can request one from state and party officials. There also could be uncounted absentee or provisional ballots.”

Nashville Public Radio reports Tracy had already declared victory before the last votes were tallied.

“A number of Democrats expressed interest in seeking the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate to replace Sen. John Walsh, who ended his campaign Thursday,” the Billings Gazette reports.

“And a number of prominent Democrats ruled themselves out, including Gov. Steve Bullock, former Gov. Brian Schweitzer, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau and state Auditor Monica Lindeen.”

Sen. John Walsh (D-MT) said he is “pulling out of the Senate race because his campaign was distracted by the controversy over allegations that he plagiarized a U.S. Army War College research paper,” the Billings Gazette reports.

“The Montana Democratic Party now will choose a replacement… The party has to select a new Senate candidate at a nominating convention by Aug. 20. About 175 delegates, including statewide and federal elected officials, county party committee leaders and the party executive board members, will pick the nominee.”

National Journal reports Walsh’s wife Janet was “openly sobbing” as she thanked members of the campaign.

Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) told the Bangor Daily News that he doesn’t believe the polls that show him in a tight re-election race.

Said LePage (in the third person): “The governor does not agree… The governor says that he’s either going to be blown out by a landslide or he’s going to win by a landslide… The Maine people are either going to throw me out or take me in wholeheartedly, but I don’t think this is going to be close.”

Neil Newhouse: “Two years ago, the same polls that now show the GOP with a marginal advantage on this measure, showed much of the same thing – that GOP voters were significantly more excited about voting in the November Presidential election.”

“And, what happened? The enthusiasm gap was taken to the woodshed by the Obama team’s GOTV efforts. In a nutshell, the Democrats turned out voters who were unenthusiastic, unexcited and not ‘energized’ to vote, rendering the enthusiasm gap meaningless.”

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) offered a theory to KSHB-TV when asked why significant numbers of Republican primary voters cast ballots against incumbents on Tuesday.

Brownback won, but his little-known primary opponent Jennifer Winn (R) received 37% of the vote.

Said Brownback: “I think a big part of it is Barack Obama. That a lot of people are so irritated at what the president is doing, they just, they want somebody to throw a brick.”

Politico: “All other states — except Hawaii, which votes this Saturday — hold their primaries on a Tuesday. Tennessee even holds its presidential primaries on Super Tuesday. Yet, when it comes time to elect or nominate state or federal candidates, the Volunteer State waits until Thursday.”

“The rule is tucked away in the state’s first constitution, which was drafted in 1796 and meant to govern elections “forever after.” Since then, it’s survived the drafting and amending of two new constitutions, Tennessee’s secession from the Union and efforts by the federal government to standardize when and where Americans vote.”