In the first few weeks after the Republican and Democratic National Conventions this summer, it appeared as if the anti-Trump wings of the conservative movement and the GOP would be granted an all-purpose exemption from their main civic duty this November.

Until about one week ago, Hillary Clinton’s lead over Donald Trump was forbidding enough that for all practical purposes, the question was whether Trump would lose badly or in a historic landslide. Under the circumstances, #NeverTrump Republicans, in a mournful I told you so timbre, beseeched the party to cut Trump loose and shore up down ballot races. The question of which presidential candidate they would vote for in the event of a close race seemed largely irrelevant.

Not anymore.

Clinton’s lead is still real, but it has shrunk, and worryingly enough that Trump-skeptical conservatives who have played coy about their true preferences thus far can’t responsibly continue to do so. Clinton’s lead may widen again on its own. But continued ambivalence, with polls narrowing, is tantamount to suggesting Clinton and Donald Trump represent comparable risks. For those who know deep-down that Clinton is a conventional politician and an experienced bureaucrat, whereas Trump is a reckless maniac, the time to speak up has arrived.

Back in May, I argued that the face-value logic of #NeverTrump pointed to doing whatever’s necessary to prevent him from winning the presidency by accident. At the time, anti-Trump conservatives were flirting with ideas like recruiting a high-profile third-party candidate, and endorsing the Libertarian Party ticket. But at bottom, to mean anything, #NeverTrump had to prepare itself to grapple with the fact that their activism and decision-making would deny Republicans the presidency and hand it to Clinton. That while relinquishing the White House for four or eight years more years would foreclose a conservative policymaking glut, they’d have admit to themselves that she, not he, can be trusted with the presidency, and be prepared to defend their determination publicly.