COLORADO SPRINGS — U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan outlined what he suggested is an optimistic, policy-driven platform for the Republican Party at an exclusive retreat for conservative donors Monday, showcasing a competing vision to the darker campaign of Donald Trump.

The Wisconsin lawmaker said Republicans face a “fight for the soul of our party” as he spoke on the final day of a seminar hosted by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch that drew 400-plus to The Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs.

If Republicans retain control in the House, Ryan said the agenda will focus on six main points: reducing poverty, strengthening national security, eliminating regulations, reducing the size of government, replacing Obamacare and reforming the tax code.

“We want to be known for this. We want to run on this. We want to earn the right to put this in place. That’s the kind of validating election we’re seeking,” he said, waving a “Better Way” pamphlet over his head.

And even though Ryan didn’t mention Trump by name, he made clear the policy proposals diverge from what the party’s presidential nominee is offering.

Related Articles September 21, 2020 Editorial: Ginsburg applied the law equally; will Sen. Cory Gardner apply his precedent of letting voters have say equally?

September 21, 2020 Trump’s Ohio suburb slide signals peril in industrial north

September 21, 2020 As Democrats balk, Trump to make high court pick by Saturday

September 21, 2020 AP FACT CHECK: Trump’s made-up car plants, court revisionism

September 20, 2020 Woman accused of sending ricin letter to White House arrested, AP sources say The original goal, he said, was to “draft with that nominee and then bring this to the country.” But, he added, “we have a different kind of nominee now.”

The quip generated a knowing laugh from many in the ballroom. The Koch network has made clear it will not support Trump’s campaign.

“I think it’s clear that Trump’s not completely in line with the motives or agenda of this organization,” said Gary Wright, a Koch network donor from Denver, who praised Ryan’s “positive vision.”

Still, Wright added, “I think there are very few people (here) that want to see (Democrat Hillary Clinton) elected.”

Trump, who campaigned down the road in Colorado Springs on Friday, a day before the retreat began, wrote in a Twitter message that he turned down a meeting with Charles Koch, adding: “Much better for them to meet with the puppets of politics, they will do much better!”

Later Monday, Trump tweeted a message of thanks to Ryan’s Republican primary opponent in Wisconsin, Paul Nehlen, for defending his remarks about the Muslim family of an American soldier killed in Iraq. Ryan, who has endorsed Trump, has said the soldier “made the ultimate sacrifice” for his country.

Instead of putting money and resources into the White House battle, the Koch network — a coalition of organizations that includes Americans for Prosperity, the LIBRE Initiative and Concerned Veterans for America — is focused on down-ballot races as it builds its political muscle in Colorado.

This year in the state, the political groups are campaigning to shoot down multiple ballot initiatives, elect conservatives to the legislature and defeat U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman’s Democratic opponent in the 6th Congressional District, state Sen. Morgan Carroll.

The growth of the Koch footprint in Colorado is evidence that there is “opportunity” in the state, said Dustin Zvonek, regional director for Americans for Prosperity.

In other states, “you know there are people locked in one camp or another, and you are not going to change them,” he said in an interview at The Broadmoor. “But Colorado is one of those states where you have a big middle. And the real goal and effort is to educate people on these policies and principles that bring about a free society, and there’s more a receptive audience to that (here).”

In six other states, the Koch network is boosting Republican U.S. Senate candidates to keep the party in power, but Colorado is not on the list — despite the vulnerabilities of Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet.

The decision is another signal that Republican challenger Darryl Glenn, a low-profile El Paso County commissioner, has yet to prove himself as a viable candidate to elite donors.

James Davis, a spokesperson for Freedom Partners, a Koch umbrella organization, said the race is “on the watch list” but “we’ll have to see how it develops.”

The Denver Post and other news organizations were invited to the Koch retreat, a biannual event, to attend only certain events — such as Ryan’s speech — on the condition that reporters do not identify the people in the room without their permission.

The three-day event drew major Colorado political names, including Coffman; U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, whom the network helped elect in 2014; and Larry Mizel, a wealthy developer and chairman of Trump’s finance team in Colorado.

Despite the well-heeled location and wealthy guests, the event focused on income inequity and the lack of upward mobility in society. Charles Koch, a billionaire industrialist, made remarks that decried the “two-tiered society” between the rich and poor.

Ryan returned to the theme as he focused on the need to help reduce poverty by removing government barriers and overhauling welfare programs that he believes disincentivize work.

“We lost the moral high ground to the left on this issue,” he said.

The House GOP’s agenda is a tool to redefine the discussion.

“We see ourselves in the House as sort of the engine room of the ship of the Republican Party,” Ryan said. “We also see ourselves adding a keel and a rudder to the ship, giving it substance and giving it direction, giving it a moral foundation, and giving it a practical application of our principles and showing what an agenda actually looks like so we can win this fight for the soul of our party, and for the country.”