Voters in the battleground states swept Donald Trump into the White House this week. But Republican insiders in those states want House Speaker Paul Ryan, not the newly elected president, driving the policy agenda in GOP-dominated Washington next year.

That’s according to The POLITICO Caucus — a panel of activists, strategists and operatives in 11 swing states, seven of which Trump captured on Election Day or is ahead in the ongoing vote count.


Roughly two-thirds of Republican insiders, 65 percent, think Ryan, who is expected to serve as speaker in the new Congress, should have more influence over policy when Trump is inaugurated next January.

“The GOP needs to lift its eyes and spread its wings if we expect to grow,” said a Colorado Republican — who, like all insiders, completed the survey anonymously. “Ryan and his allies are the people to create and share that vision.”

“Donald Trump and policy-making don't really belong in the same sentence,” an Iowa Republican added. “Paul Ryan will make policy and Donald Trump can Make America Great Again.”

But 35 percent of GOP insiders want the new president to command the bully pulpit and drive the agenda — an attitude that is sometimes driven by dissatisfaction with Ryan’s short tenure as speaker thus far.

“Paul Ryan is elected by a small portion of Wisconsin voters. Trump has been elected by the entire country,” said a Nevada Republican. “If Ryan believes he should have more influence than a Republican president, he should step down and let someone lead who will help President Trump with his agenda.”

“Paul Ryan had his chance the past two years [sic] to show leadership in policy-making, and he's done nothing but play to the establishment,” added a Florida Republican.

The Trump-Ryan relationship could be complicated by the different issues each man discussed during the campaign, insiders said. Some of Trump’s positions on entitlements clash with Ryan’s long-term budget plans, for example.

“Paul Ryan's manifesto is based on the tired, old ideas rejected by the American electorate in 2012 and 2008,” a Michigan Republican said. “Trump's coalition is not going to support his reelection if, for example, he cuts Medicare.”

And some GOP insiders still feel like Ryan cut Trump loose during the presidential campaign — though the Wisconsinite did move closer to the nominee in the closing days of the race.

“Ryan was actually more of an impediment to Trump's campaign than an ally,” a Nevada Republican said. “He should be replaced as speaker.”

Overall, GOP insiders are somewhat optimistic that Trump and the GOP-controlled Congress will be able to work together — despite the discontent with current leadership into which Trump tapped in the Republican primary.

A 56-percent majority of Republican insiders have “a lot of confidence” Trump and Congress will be able to work together to get things done, and another 39 percent have “some confidence.”

“Congressional GOP leaders now respect the Trump troops in a way that they didn't before,” an Ohio Republican said. “That will give President Trump a basket full of political capital.”

But others were more skeptical Trump will adapt to dealing with Congress, despite a warm first 48 hours as president-elect.

“He has to understand how a democracy works, how the separation of powers work and that compromise does not equal weakness,” a New Hampshire Republican said.

“Early signs feel positive,” a Virginia Republican added, “but it's the day after the election, and that's when everyone most wants to play nice and circle the wagons. Time will tell.”

Here are two other takeaways from this week’s survey:

Democrats are terrified.

After being almost unanimously assured of a Hillary Clinton victory this week, nearly four-out-of-five Democratic insiders are “scared” at the now-inevitable prospect of a Trump presidency.

Asked a question posed to voters on the exit poll, 79 percent of Democrats say they are scared following Trump’s victory on Tuesday, and the other 21 percent are “concerned.” No Democratic insiders said they were “excited” or “optimistic.”

Among scared Democrats, some are frightened by Trump’s campaign rhetoric and personality.

“As an LGBT person and the son of a strong mother and sister, I am both scared and ashamed of this decision by a minority of Americans,” said a North Carolina Democrat. “He is dangerous for minorities and women. It's not that Trump is conservative that scares me — my hope at this point is for steady but conservative folks to be surrounding him. It's that he is such a small, threatened and angry man.”

Others fear Trump won’t be up to the job as president.

“He has no idea how to do this new job, beginning with competently assembling an effective transition team and cabinet,” an Iowa Democrat said.

But other Democrats are taking the long view.

“America is stronger than any one person, and our system is designed to constrain him,” said a Florida Democrat. “And when they overreach on everything, because they will misread this as a mandate for Fox News ideology, it's a chance for us to define the conversation for a decade — if we can get our s--- together.”

GOP insiders are taking a more cautious approach: 26 percent said they were excited, 47 percent are optimistic but not excited, 23 percent are concerned and 5 percent are scared.

“A Trump presidency will be more constrained than a Clinton presidency,” an Ohio Republican said. “With serious leaders in the Congress and administration, there is an opportunity for conservatives to enact real solutions, in spite of the flaws of Trump.”

Democrats spread the blame around.

Asked who they thought was most to blame for Clinton’s defeat, swing-state Democrats were more or less evenly divided: 36 percent put the blame at the feet of FBI Director James Comey for his vague letters to Congress that ultimately changed nothing about the investigation into Clinton’s use of a private email server, 34 percent blamed Clinton and her campaign for their strategic decisions and 27 percent blamed the news media.

“She was a flawed and ineffective candidate,” a Pennsylvania Democrat said. “I know she would have made an excellent president, but her baggage fit the Trump narrative like a glove and caused her demise. She never shook the trust issue and between emails, Wikileaks and the problems with the [Clinton] Foundation, not only was there unbridled acrimony towards her, but it damped enthusiasm from voters who should have supported her. It was apparent from Day One and no one had the guts to tell the Clintons and their hangers on that she was a liability.”

“The media gave Trump legitimacy when he didn't deserve it, free airtime day after day after day, and failed to hold him accountable for his lies,” a North Carolina Democrat added. “They are much more powerful than any candidate's campaign or a single wrong decision by Comey.”

These are the members of The POLITICO Caucus, not all of whom participated in this survey:

Colorado: Ryan Call, Laura Carno, Matt Chandler, Will Coyne, Adam Eichberg, Mark Ferrandino, Cole Finegan, Michael Fortney, Andrew Freedman, Ted Harvey, Craig Hughes, Owen Loftus, Pete Maysmith, Frank McNulty, Karen Middleton, Christopher Murray, BJ Nikkel, Josh Penry, Rick Ridder, Alan Salazar, Janice Sinden, Pat Steadman, Pat Waak, Steve Welchert, Taylor West, Roxane White, Rob Witwer

Florida: Fernand Amandi, Scott Arceneaux, JP Austin, Tim Baker, Dennis K. Baxley, Slater Bayliss, Dave Beattie, Wayne Bertsch, Ron Book, Pamela Burch Fort, Jose Calderon, Kevin Cate, Kelly Cohen, Gus Corbella, Brian Crowley, Elizabeth Cuevas-Neunder, Justin Day, Judith Diaz, Nelson Diaz, John Dowless, Ryan Duffy, Jessica Ehrlich, Joe Falk, Alia Faraj-Johnson, Mark Ferrulo, Damien Filer, Marty Fiorentino, Rich Heffley, Nick Iarossi, David Johnson, Eric Johnson, Marian Johnson, Eric Jotkoff, Chris Korge, Jackie Lee, Susan MacManus, Beth Matuga, Fred Menachem, Jon Mills, Joe Mobley, Ben Pollara, Andrea Reilly, Steve Schale, April Schiff, Max Steele, Roger Stone, Richard Swann, Kevin Sweeny, Christian Ulvert, Steve Vancore, Ashley Walker, Andrew Weinstein, Andrew Wiggins, Ryan Wiggins, Rick Wilson

Iowa: Tim Albrecht, Brad Anderson, Rob Barron, Jeff Boeyink, Bonnie Campbell, Dave Caris, Sam Clovis, Jerry Crawford, Sara Craig, John Davis, Steve Deace, John Deeth, Derek Eadon, Ed Failor Jr., Karen Fesler, David Fischer, Ben Foecke, Doug Gross, Steve Grubbs, Tim Hagle, Bob Haus, Joe Henry, Drew Ivers, Jill June, Lori Jungling, Jeff Kaufmann, Brian Kennedy, Jake Ketzner, David Kochel, Chris Larimer, Chuck Larson, Jill Latham, Jeff Link, Dave Loebsack, Mark Lucas, Liz Mathis, Jan Michelson, Chad Olsen, David Oman, Matt Paul, Marlys Popma, Troy Price, Christopher Rants, Kim Reem, Craig Robinson, Sam Roecker, David Roederer, Nick Ryan, Tamara Scott, Joni Scotter, Karen Slifka, John Smith, AJ Spiker, Norm Sterzenbach, John Stineman, Matt Strawn, Charlie Szold, Phil Valenziano, Jessica Vanden Berg, Nate Willems, Eric Woolson, Grant Young

Michigan: Jill Alper, Saul Anuzis, Andrea Bitely, Lori Carpentier, Howard Edelson, Jordan Gehrke, Steve Hood, Darwin Jiles Jr., Joe Lehman, Dennis Lennox, Katie Packer, Ronna Romney McDaniel, John Truscott, Stephanie White, John Yob

Nevada: Mac Abrams, Greg Bailor, Barbara Buckley, Yvanna Cancela, Bob Cavazos, Linda Cavazos, Jim DeGraffenreid, Andrew Diss, Peter Ernaut, Ryan Erwin, Chip Evans, Jay Gerstema, Oscar Goodman, Ryan Hamilton, Dan Hart, Pat Hickey, Zach Hudson, Jeremy Hughes, Megan Jones, Lindsey Jydstrup, Adam Khan, Peter Koltak, Roberta Lange, Sam Liberman, Laura Martin, Michael McDonald, Chuck Muth, Erven Nelson, Kristen Orthman, Neal Patel, Nick Phillips, Jon Ralston, Andres Ramires, Emmy Ruiz, Scott Scheid, Mike Slanker, James Smack, Paul Smith, Jack St. Martin, Mari St. Martin, Daniel Stewart, Brendan Summers, Riley Sutton, Robert Uithoven, Michelle White, Ed Williams, Heidi Wixom

New Hampshire: Charlie Arlinghaus, Arnie Arnesen, Patrick Arnold, Rich Ashooh, Dean Barker, Juliana Bergeron, D.J. Bettencourt, Michael Biundo, Ray Buckley, Peter Burling, Jamie Burnett, Debby Butler, Dave Carney, Jackie Cilley, Catherine Corkery, Fergus Cullen, Lou D’Allesandro, James Demers, Mike Dennehy, Sean Downey, Steve Duprey, JoAnn Fenton, Jennifer Frizzell, Martha Fuller Clark, Amanda Grady Sexton, Jack Heath, Gary Hirshberg, Jennifer Horn, Peter Kavanaugh, Joe Keefe, Rich Killion, Harrell Kirstein, Sylvia Larsen, Joel Maiola, Kate Malloy Corriveau, Maureen Manning, Steve Marchand, Tory Mazzola, Jim Merrill, Jayne Millerick, Claira Monier, Greg Moore, Matt Mowers, Terie Norelli, Chris Pappas, Liz Purdy, Tom Rath, Colin Reed, Jim Rubens, Andy Sanborn, Dante Scala, William Shaheen, Stefany Shaheen, Carol Shea-Porter, Terry Shumaker, Andy Smith, Craig Stevens, Kathy Sullivan, Chris Sununu, James Sununu, Jay Surdukowski, Donna Sytek, Kari Thurman, Colin Van Ostern, Deb Vanderbeek, Mike Vlacich, Ryan Williams

North Carolina: Don Davis, Francis X. De Luca, Anita Earls, Jonathan Felts, Tami L. Fitzgerald, Dylan Frick, Taylor Griffin, Robin Hayes, Morgan Jackson, Patsy Keever, Theresa Kostrzewa, Michael Luethy, Ray Martin, Thomas Mills, Melissa L. Reed, Chris Sgro, Paul Shumaker, Dee Stewart, Brad Thompson, Bruce Thompson, Charlie Wallin, Doug Wilson

Ohio: Jerry Austin, Greg Beswick, Matt Borges, Erica Bruton, Tim Burke, Janet Carson, Jai Chabria, Martha Clark, Bob Clegg, Damareo Cooper, Jo Ann Davidson, Michael Dawson, Bill DeMora, Cindy Demse, Kathy Dicristofaro, Katie Eagan, Michael Gonidakis, Wes Goodman, Joe Hallett, Ian James, Melissa Klide Hedden, David Leland, Nick Martin, Rhine McLin, David Pepper, Molly Shack, Mark R. Weaver

Pennsylvania: Chris Borick, Larry Ceisler, Valentino DiGiorgio, Jason Ercole, Dan Fee, Charlie Gerow, Marcel Groen, Leslie Gromis Baker, Mark Harris, Nan McLaughlin, Aubrey Montgomery, Christopher Nicholas, Nachama Soloveichik, David Sosar, Todd Stephens, Doc Sweitzer, David Thornburgh, Ray Zaborney

Virginia: Ray Allen, Sandra Brandt, Marc K. Broklawski, Patsy Brown, Janet Carver, John Cosgrove, Brian Coy, Doris Crouse-Mays, Tom Davis, Julie Dime, Abbi Easter, Mike Farris, John Findlay, Joe Fitzgerald, Sean Harrison, Margo Horner, Robert Hurt, Gaylene Kanoyton, Chris LaCivita, Sue Langley, Frank Leone, Robert G. Marshall, Tucker Martin, Ed Matricardi, Susan J. Rowland, Peter Snyder, Susan Swecker, Jo Thoburn

Wisconsin: Meg Andrietsch, Mary Arnold, Kevin Barthel, Mike Basford, Rebecca Bonesteel, Barry Burden, Terri Burl, Jim Camery, Patrick Guarasci, Robert Hansen, Gary Hawley, Marian Krumberger, Emily Nehring, Jason Rae, Brandon Scholz, John Zapfel

Kristen Hayford contributed to this report.