Republican presidential candidate pulled off the seemingly impossible Tuesday, winning an election he was widely forecasted to lose. Dozens of business groups congratulated the candidate on his victory and said it was now time to move forward after a bitter election season.

Trump was not the favored candidate of many association leaders, who, after all, belong to the political "establishment" he railed against during his campaign. However, many also couldn't get behind the candidacy of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Several business groups took consolation in the fact that Republicans retained control of the Senate, meaning their interests are now likely to advance further than they did during the Obama administration.

"The number one goal of the Chamber's political program this cycle was to save the pro-business majority in the Senate," U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue said in a statement. "Yesterday voters agreed, and chose pro-business majorities in the Senate and the House to represent them in Washington."

In statements released after the election results became clear, many groups called for people from across the political spectrum to come to together to solve the problems facing the country. The National Association of Manufacturers released a letter initiated by CEO Jay Timmons and signed by more than 1,100 manufacturing and business leaders pledging to "rebuild trust in our democratic and economic institutions."

"Regardless of political party affiliation, the president of the United States deserves the respect of all Americans, and for the sake of our country, manufacturers want our next president to stand tall on the world stage and stand up for America's entrepreneurs," the NAM letter states.

The following is a sample of responses to the election results, organized by industry sector:

Small/large business

Juanita Duggan, CEO, National Federation of Independent Business
"On behalf of the National Federation of Independent Business, I would like to congratulate President-elect Trump, and we look forward to working with him on policies to strengthen small business, which represents 99.7 percent of all U.S. employers and which provides jobs for 58 million Americans."

John Engler, President, Business Roundtable
"President-elect Trump has embraced rebuilding America's infrastructure, fundamentally reforming the anti-growth U.S. tax structure and bringing common sense to federal regulation. These are key pro-growth policies, critical to new innovation and investment. America's business leaders fully support these priorities."

Matthew Shay, CEO, National Retail Federation
"The next few months will offer many opportunities for us to educate lawmakers on our priorities, such as tax reform and investment in our nation's infrastructure, as well as pro-growth policies that create jobs and reward capital investment. If this election taught us anything, it is the importance of focusing on policies and programs that not only benefit today's economy, but the economy of the future and our next generation of workers."

Dawn Sweeney, CEO, National Restaurant Association
"On behalf of the country's one million restaurants, we congratulate President-elect Trump, and we look forward to working with him in the months and years ahead to protect and expand the contributions restaurants make to our communities and our economy. As the country ushers in new leadership in Washington, we will ensure that America's restaurants have a seat at the table."

Robert Cresanti, CEO, International Franchise Association
"The American middle class, upward mobility and opportunity have suffered from the years of political gridlock and business as usual. This election marks a sea change in how the American people expect their elected officials to conduct themselves. We have to find the third way, not the Republican way, not the Democrat way, but the American way."

Brian McGuire, CEO, Associated Equipment Manufacturers
"There's an immediate opportunity to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure, reform the nation's tax code, develop the next generation of skilled workers and lower the cost of doing business for small companies. The voters have spoken and AED is standing by to work with members of both parties to create an economic environment that encourages job creation, growth, investment and entrepreneurship."

David Melcher, CEO, Aerospace Industries Association
"As the voice of American aerospace and defense, AIA led the way to inform the campaigns of our positions on issues essential to continued economic growth and progress. We met with Mr. Trump in June and informal advisers to Hillary for America in August to present our campaign position papers and explain in more detail the steps necessary to boost our economy, support high-technology jobs and ensure our national security."

Transportation

Edward Hamberger, CEO, Association of American Railroads
"A highly contested election season is behind us and leaders in Washington, D.C., will now shift their focus to policymaking. American industry, including the freight rail sector, is eager to work with a new administration and Congress, helping advance policies that will spur economic growth, support quality jobs and further cement the United States as a global leader."

American Public Transportation Association
"President-Elect Trump spoke of the need for increased infrastructure investment during his campaign and APTA is grateful to have had the opportunity to share its perspective and expertise with the transition team in recent months. APTA members stand ready to build on this work with President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect Pence on revitalizing our economy and creating jobs through greater federal investment in infrastructure."

Chris Spear, CEO, American Trucking Associations
"During the campaign, (Trump) highlighted the need to create jobs, and recognized that improving our nation's infrastructure is critical to strengthening the economy. As the industry that moves nearly 70 percent of our nation's freight and is a key economic driver, we look forward to working with President-elect Trump on a host of issues, including long-term, sustainable infrastructure funding, tax reform and fair and free trade."

Nick Calio, CEO, Airlines for America
"We look forward to working with the transition team on strengthening our infrastructure in the sky to meet the nation's growing demands on the ground. The current U.S. Air Traffic Control system, while safe, is an inefficient relic of the 1940s. We're eager to work with President-elect Trump to transform it to reduce delays for the 2.2 million passengers and 50,000 tons of cargo that fly every day, while accommodating future growth and demand for travel and shipping."

Pete Ruane, CEO, American Road and Transportation Builders Association
"Republicans in Congress should heed the call of their party's leader and make urgently-needed improvements of national infrastructure networks a top priority in nearly 2017. Despite a highly partisan political environment, Republicans and Democrats have routinely worked in a bipartisan manner to support infrastructure legislation. All sides should view a long-term infrastructure package as an opportunity for the two parties to come together and make meaningful progress for the American people.

Roger Dow, CEO, U.S. Travel Association
"Mr. Trump demonstrated throughout his campaign that travel and infrastructure issues have his attention, and we stand ready to advise his administration on achieving his stated aims in these areas. We are encouraged that Mr. Trump's extensive business and hospitality background—not to mention that travel accounts for 10 percent of all U.S. exports and creates jobs in every single congressional district—will make him a ready and receptive ear for our agenda."

Finance

Richard Hunt, CEO, Consumer Bankers Association
"CBA congratulates President-elect Donald Trump and will remain focused on working with members of congressional committees and federal agencies key to the financial services industry on our priorities, including a five-person, bipartisan commission at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; common sense policies to help banks innovate in the 21st century; and improving the regulatory environment so banks may continue to meet consumer needs."

Tim Pawlenty, CEO, Financial Services Roundtable
"Our country faces big challenges, but it also has incredible opportunities for innovation and growth that will provide a brighter future for people who need hope and help. The new administration and Congress should enact policies that grow the economy, spur innovation, protect both consumers and taxpayers, add good-paying jobs, and help more Americans reach their financial goals."

David Stevens, CEO, Mortgage Bankers Association
"MBA will work with President-elect Trump and his administration, as well as with the new Congress, with the goal of advancing an agenda that restores housing as a lead economic driver for individual wealth creation and the nation as a whole. Therefore, it is critical that President Trump focus on three main areas—ensuring an adequate supply of affordable housing, bringing first-time homebuyers back into the housing market and ensuring certainty in regulations."

Jim Nussle, CEO, Credit Union National Association
"It is critical that the president-elect's nominees to the (National Credit Union Administration) Board not only understand how credit unions operate, but also support the credit union difference and the important role credit unions play in the lives of their members. Further, nominees to the NCUA Board should have the vision to balance the importance of managing a safe and sound system of cooperative credit with the need to ensure that regulatory burden does not interfere with credit unions' ability to innovate and to serve their members efficiently and effectively."

Energy

Tom Kimbis, interim CEO, Solar Energy Industries Association
""We congratulate President-elect Donald Trump for his victory in this historic election. The solar industry, born in America, is creating thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in investments across American communities. SEIA's 1,000 member companies—the great majority of which are small businesses—will continue to innovate and provide clean, competitive, reliable and affordable energy for all Americans."

Randall Luthi, President, National Ocean Industries Association
"President-elect Trump should unequivocally reestablish the U.S. commitment to ‘all-of-the-above' energy policies. Government projections show that the demand for energy of all kinds will continue to increase in America and around the world for the foreseeable future. Offshore has the potential to be a true energy incubator, supplying both traditional forms of energy and non-traditional sources such as wind, wave and current."

Tim Wigley, President, Western Energy Alliance
"Western Energy Alliance is overjoyed that we will not be experiencing a third term of the Obama Administration. American producers have been deluged by regulatory agencies bent on making it more difficult to produce American energy even as President Obama worked so hard to help Iranian producers. President-elect Trump understands that overregulation is killing American opportunity, and his plans to spur development of domestic shale oil and natural gas will create hundreds of thousands of blue-collar jobs while delivering widespread prosperity and low energy prices for consumers."

Maria Korsnick, incoming CEO, Nuclear Energy Institute
"During the campaign, Mr. Trump spoke out on the need to build more nuclear plants and expand the nation's overall energy supply. As a successful real estate developer, he understands the pressing need for reliable sources of electricity as the foundation for economic growth that brings significant overall economic benefits."

National Mining Association
"The U.S. mining industry looks forward to working with the Trump administration and the 115th Congress on a wide range of issues of mutual interest. Meeting the needs of the American people cannot be accomplished without a robust mining industry. And a robust mining industry is only possible with reasonable laws and regulations that balance costs with benefits in pursuit of realistic goals."

Emily Skor, CEO, Growth Energy
"President-elect Trump has publicly supported the Renewable Fuel Standard throughout his campaign, and consistently opposed any efforts to roll back this policy. In fact, the RFS was one issue where both candidates found common ground, and we applaud their recognition of the importance that biofuels, like ethanol, play in fueling our country."

Health care

Rick Pollack, CEO, American Hospital Association
"With the election now behind us, we must pivot from politics to governance. Amid the changing political landscape, our priorities remain the same—advancing the transformation of health care, ensuring access to coverage, preserving adequate resources for health care, protecting patient access to care, enhancing the quality of care and patient safety, and making health care more affordable."

Kristine Grow, SVP, communications, America's Health Insurance Plans
"Every American deserves access to affordable health coverage. A competitive private market can deliver more choice, higher quality, and lower costs. We will work across the aisle—with every policymaker and the new administration—to find solutions that deliver affordable coverage and high-quality care for everyone."

Marla Weston, CEO, American Nurses Association
"President-elect trump has said his interest is in repealing and replacing (the Affordable Care Act). Our focus really will be on the replacing. As we all know, the Affordable Care Act has now been in existence for five years; there are lots of elements that are working very well for the nation, and some areas where everyone could agree improvements could be made."

Other groups

Dirk Kempthorne, CEO, American Council of Life Insurers
"One key challenge is boosting Americans' financial and retirement security… A second national challenge is fixing our nation's crumbling transportation infrastructure. Life insurers look forward to considering new opportunities, if properly structured, to partner with federal and state governments on infrastructure initiatives requiring long-term financing. ACLI is eager to engage on infrastructure improvement plans."

Dean Garfield, CEO, Information Technology Industry Council
"The enduring and exceptional principle of our democracy is the power of the people to speak their truth and directly shape the direction of the nation. The tech sector is committed to working with President-elect Trump to help translate that truth into action that improves our lives and helps address some of society's most pressing problems."

National Shooting Sports Foundation
"The American people have spoken. We have elected a president who has pledged to protect our Constitutional rights and a majority of both houses of Congress that will work to ensure that our individual right to keep and bear arms will be preserved. The work of those who love liberty and our nation's hunting and shooting traditions is never over. Americans need to remain involved to help ensure that the defense of our Second Amendment remains strong and the lawful commerce in firearms is protected at all levels of government."

Robert Guenther, SVP, Public Policy, United Fresh Produce Association
"We are honored to be your voice in the nations' capital, working day-in and day-out in a bipartisan manner on an unwavering produce industry public policy agenda. We believe this is one of the most valuable strengths we offer to our association's membership by bringing all friends to the table—Republican and Democrat, rural and urban, liberal and conservative."