PALM BEACH, Fla. >> When Fox News called the presidential election for Donald Trump early Wednesday, guests at a private party at a cigar lounge in Palm Beach, Florida, began congratulating the lobbyist who hosted the event.

“Two hundred million a year in revenue!” one guest proclaimed, predicting a windfall for the lobbyist, Robert Stryk, in a forthcoming Trump administration.

The prediction seemed fanciful — Stryk’s small firm averaged about $4.8 million a year in lobbying fees after bursting onto the scene early in the first Trump administration — but it reflected a gleefulness about a sudden surge in demand for lobbyists with ties to Trump’s orbit.

In corporate boardrooms and foreign capitals, there was a scramble Wednesday to sign lobbyists who could help navigate an incoming administration viewed with uncertainty and concern. Even after his first presidential term ended four years ago, Trump remained something of an enigma to the deep-pocketed interests whose fates depend on staying in Washington’s good graces, or at least out of its crosshairs.

They wanted help and were willing to pay for it.

Companies and foreign countries have long relied on lobbyists to guide them through the shifts in power on Capitol Hill or the White House. But since Trump first upended global politics in 2016, he has continued to confound establishment gatekeepers on K Street, the Washington boulevard that was traditionally home to many lobbying firms. They largely kept their distance from him for fear of alienating blue-chip clients who worried about brand damage from being associated with his inflammatory rhetoric.

Trump’s team, in turn, at times tried to restrict access for lobbyists who either opposed him or stayed on the sidelines, as well as for those seen as profiteering off their connections to him. It has led to a delicate dance in which a relatively small group of lobbyists have sought to demonstrate their value to him — including by raising money for his cash-strapped campaigns — and to cautious clients, without running afoul of the sensitivities of either.

In an ironic twist for a politician who first ran on a pledge to “drain the swamp” of Washington special interests, Trump’s election is expected to be very lucrative for lobbyists who have struck that balance.

Near the top of that list is Brian Ballard, who was a leading fundraiser for Trump, helping to bring in more than $50 million for committees supporting the campaign, according to a person familiar with Republican fundraising who was not authorized to speak on the matter. He also donated more than $250,000 of his own money.

Ballard had a thriving lobbying practice in Florida, where he represented Trump’s company, but had never lobbied in Washington before opening an office after Trump’s election in 2016.

He quickly became a go-to for major corporations facing scrutiny from the Trump administration and Congress, like Amazon for its competitive practices and Boeing for its safety record, and foreign governments like Qatar and Turkey. His firm raked in tens of millions of dollars in federal lobbying fees during Trump’s first term, while hiring an army of lobbyists from both parties and opening offices in California and Saudi Arabia.

On Wednesday, Ballard’s firm posted a statement on social media congratulating Trump, saying that “we pray that all Americans will unite together in support of our President-elect.” That evening, the lobbyist was seen at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, where he is a member.

Just as lobbyists with ties to Trump’s team are planning for a surge, a decline might be in store for those whose business surged under President Joe Biden, such as Jeff Ricchetti, the brother of White House counselor Steve Ricchetti.

It is a cycle that repeats itself with each change in power, though Trump’s staggered stints in the White House created a new twist.

Businesses and foreign interests have already been paying for insight from former officials on Trump’s previous campaigns and first administration who have joined lobbying or advisory firms, or started their own.

More are expected to make the jump from Trump’s victorious campaign, which had its own high-level connection to the influence industry. It was led partly by Susie Wiles, who retained a senior position with lobbying firm Mercury Public Affairs during the campaign, according to a person familiar with the firm, and was a registered lobbyist for a tobacco company through at least earlier this year.

“My phone has started to ring from people with Trump backgrounds on the campaign looking to go to K Street,” said Ivan Adler, a recruiter who specializes in finding influence industry jobs for former political and government officials. “The Trump people will have their day. They’re the new ‘it’ girl.”