Early midterm voters on left and right share one dread, AP interviews find

Voters on both sides of the aisle are carrying the same unease into the midterms, according to the Associated Press. In dozens of interviews with people who cast ballots early, the AP found palpable angst among President Trump's opponents and among many of his supporters alike. Both groups describe a country they no longer recognize.

The through-line, per the AP: a shared sense that the America they've known is slipping away. That's a striking convergence, given how far apart these voters sit on almost everything else. The dread isn't landing on one side of the political divide — it's landing on both.

The AP based its account on dozens of conversations with early voters, a group that has already locked in its choices before Election Day. The report doesn't break the interviews down by state or by party count, and it doesn't put a number on how widespread the feeling is. What it does show is a mood, described as unmistakable in the room.

Early voting has become a major slice of how Americans cast ballots, so the people the AP spoke with are not a fringe sample. They're voters who made up their minds before the closing stretch of the campaign. Their answers hint at something bigger than any single race or candidate.

For Trump's opponents, the anxiety is familiar. For many of his backers, it's something new — or at least newly voiced. That combination is what makes the AP's read worth watching as more ballots come in.

Expect both campaigns to mine this kind of sentiment hard in the final push. If the fear really is bipartisan, the closing argument on either side may not be about policy at all. It may be about who can convince voters the country is still worth recognizing.