Republicans have a bitter choice to make. Do they abandon their party’s nominee and risk the wrath of the base or do they stand by him and suffer the consequences on Election Day? Republican incumbents have so far focused only on the risks associated with standing up to Donald Trump. The rewards have gone overlooked.

In haste, a series of Republicans reacted with terror and bolted from Trump’s side following the revelation that he had made lewd comments bragging about adultery and sexual assault into a hot mic in 2005. A humiliating number of Republicans soon reversed themselves and re-endorsed Trump after it became clear that their party’s most vocal base voters were livid and resolved to punish those who failed to support their party’s presidential nominee.