> But if Joe bows out at the convention, or sometime before then ,all of those convention delegates become free agents. <
You’d think so. And so did I. But I recently did a check of the DNC rules. They’re very complicated. From what I can tell, if a candidate bows out as you suggested, at least some of his delegates are given to D candidates still in the race. And I believe there are other candidates, minor ones.
Better for Joe to bow out after he wins the nomination. Then the DNC has a free hand to pick his replacement. But suppose Jill Biden talks her husband out of that?
First, don’t for get the super delegates and 2nd, Al Gore is still available. The Chicago convention is going to be chaos.