Let’s just stick with one rabbit trail at a time.
The “process” is the key word.
The Primary is nothing but a culling of the candidates and the popular vote is virtually meaningless for any other reason.
When the forces at the top are unhappy with the popular vote.
The forces at the top have several stop gates to redirect the outcome of the simple popular primary vote; beginning with state delegate allocations; winner take all; proportional take delegates; open party primaries; closed party primaries; caucuses.
If the winning candidate survives all those hurdles, then comes the National Convention “delegates”, who have already voted one time in their state primary.
Potentially these individuals are privileged to vote three more times at the National Convention with and without regard for their state popular vote. That is not representative of their state popular vote.
One man = *four* votes.
This becomes the actual election of the nominee.
The people cull, and the forces in power elect the nominee.
Or, maybe not. They can even install another, on a Third Ballot, who did not run at all, or one who did run but got 4% of the popular vote.
If it weren’t all so laughable already, it would be hysterical.
We are not forming a Union. We are a Union. We are not a Convention of States. This the 21st century.
That's incorrect and illogical. One delegate gets one vote per ballot. Just like you get one vote per ballot: one primary ballot, one vote in any primary run-off election, one general election ballot. You may physically vote three times, but your vote isn't counted three times in the end results. Multiple ballots at the national convention are equivalent to primary run-off ballots. Same concept.
The people cull, and the forces in power elect the nominee.
At the national convention, the delegates hold the power. They make the rules. They cast the votes. If the delgates want to make a rule change that lowers the threshold of required votes to something other than 50% + 1, they have the power to do that. Likewise, they can make a rule that prevents anyone other than the two candidates who received the most delegates from being listed on a ballot.
We are not a Convention of States.
The national convention is precisely a convention of states.