Wall Street firm tells clients to expect a Democratic Senate in 2021: report

On Wednesday, CNBC reported that Signum, a Wall Street financial advisory firm with a policy and research division and experts knowledgeable of Washington, is now telling clients to expect Democrats to take control of the U.S. Senate in the November election, and prepare for resulting policy changes.

"In a note to Signum’s clients, Chairman Charles Myers and senior partner Lew Lukens said that while they were initially convinced Republicans would maintain control of the upper chamber, they have changed their minds and think Democrats are going to take it back," reported Brian Schwartz. "'As Joe Biden’s lead over Trump in national and battleground polling has widened, several Senate races have become closer. We are changing our call and now predict the Democrats will take the Senate,' they wrote on Tuesday."

"Myers explained to CNBC that while they tell clients to expect a blue wave in November, they’re also warning them that Biden and a Democratic-led Congress will likely lead to higher corporate taxes, including for tech, pharmaceutical and energy companies," continued the report.

The majority of Senate seats up for re-election in 2020 are held by Republicans due to a blowout performance in 2014, and while most of those seats are in safely red states, enough races have become competitive for Republicans to be worried. Democrats only need to win a net of three seats to retake the chamber.

Polls have consistently shown Democrats leading in GOP-held seats in Arizona and Colorado, while other polls have found varying degrees of close races in GOP-controlled seats in Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Montana, and North Carolina. By contrast, the only race where Republicans appear favored to defeat a Democratic incumbent is Alabama, where Democratic Sen. Doug Jones won in a 2017 upset.