Betting Markets Move In Favour Of GOP Senate Control After CNN Exit Poll

That early exit poll from CNN has seen betting markets tilt in favour of GOP Senate control.

• What to watch in the coming hours/days: Our political risk team previously noted that "smaller, Republican-leaning counties are likely to be able to count most of their ballots overnight, meaning that in the early hours on the U.S. east coast, the morning in Europe, and early afternoon in Asia, there could be another 'red mirage', with the Republicans appearing to have secured sizeable wins but only on the basis of votes from areas in which they are historically strong. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic is it expected that a large number of voters have already voted via early in-person or mail-in ballots. These votes are likely to centre around more Democrat-leaning counties, and as such are set to take longer to process. The count may prove quicker than in November (the presidential election result in the state took a week and a half to confirm), given that counties have been required to begin scanning and processing absentee ballots for the past week (although they cannot be counted until polls close). Military and overseas ballots can be received by Friday 8 January as long as they are postmarked no later than Tuesday 5 January. In the event of any extremely close races these ballots could prove crucial."

Source: PredictIt