TEMPE — Donald J. Trump today did what the Arizona Coyotes couldn’t. He filled every seat at Arizona State University’s Mullett Arena.

He could be your president again. He could be in a jail cell, or dead, or on a fairway in South Florida. But, whatever happens twelve days from now, Mr. Trump is unlikely to hold another campaign rally in the state of Arizona — ever.

On the eve of a historic election, a fittingly historic rally; a last stand in the state still reconciling its blue tsunami in 2022. Michelle Buchanan, from Homestead, chose to become part of history today.

Ms. Buchanan was among at least a half-dozen Maricopa residents to attend today’s rally, the last in a lengthy campaign season itinerary in Arizona, itself one of seven key swing states in the Nov. 5 presidential election. Mr. Trump, who rallied in Prescott Valley Sunday, will hold seven more rallies ahead of Election Day in Nevada, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and New York.

Judy Bitz, from Province, told InMaricopa she had a ticket to the Prescott Valley rally but was turned away after waiting two-and-a-half hours in line. She did not want the same result today in Tempe, where lines were longer and the weather much hotter.

Ms. Buchanan, who is from California and has lived in Maricopa since 2012, is a Republican precinct committeeman and a member of Team Trump’s civilian action wing. Today at 9:30 a.m., five hours before Mr. Trump would deliver his remarks, she was handing out red, white and blue signs emblazoned with the number 47, as either Mr. Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris stands to become the 47th president.

Her husband, who has served 18½ years in the U.S. Military, filed a religious exemption in protest of mandatory COVID vaccines in 2020, she said.

“He fought for his rights,” Ms. Buchanan, accompanied by friends from Province, told InMaricopa during the rally today. “That’s where, politically, it started for me.”

Debra Carpenter, from Hidden Valley, was another ticketholder today, but like Homestead resident JoAnn Butler, work got in the way of the weekday affair. Others, like Heather McCluskie, from The Villages, said there was “no way in hell” she’d go.

Mr. Trump’s remarks today, which lasted a little more than an hour, centered on Ms. Harris’ undemocratic rise to power, early voting and the border crisis — “We’re like a garbage can for the world,” he said, referring to illegal immigrants. “That’s the first time I’ve ever said that. But it’s accurate.”

The former president name-dropped Springfield, Ohio, and Aurora, Colo., to thunderous boos without needing to verbalize what is said to have happened there.

“I really want him to talk about his policies,” said Ms. Buchanan, whose objective for Mr. Trump was to sway apathetic voters “no matter what their skin color is.” Today’s crowd, incongruent with corporate media characterizations of homogeny, was diverse.

A Black man wearing a “Gays for Trump” T-shirt and another Black man wearing a hoodie displaying the iconic photo of Mr. Trump with his fist in the air after surviving an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Penn., in July, with the words “legends never die” below, told InMaricopa the GOP had been more welcoming to free-thinking people of color.

Mr. Trump, entering the stage 35 minutes late to deafening applause as Lee Greenwood crooned God Bless the USA over the PA system, called Arizona an “incredible state.”

“We’re going to win in Arizona,” Mr. Trump said, predicting: “This is going to be the biggest political event in the history of our country.”

Mr. Trump’s cast of characters today included his campaign manager Stephen Miller, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), former presidential candidate and would-be Trump cabinet member Vivek Ramaswamy, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), U.S. Senate nominee Kari Lake (R-Ariz.) and U.S. Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), who represents the city of Maricopa in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Ramaswamy, the strongest speaker on the docket, more so than even Mr. Trump, who seemed less energetic than usual, said that “2024 is our 1776 and Donald Trump is the George Washington of our moment.”

Ms. Lake, notably absent from the roadsides and mailboxes in Maricopa, trailed the Democrat Ruben Gallego in that race by eight points in two Marist College polls Tuesday. Today, she called Arizona “the state that can save America,” jabbing at former President Bill Clinton, who called Ms. Lake physically attractive during a political event in Phoenix yesterday: “Doesn’t he like interns?”

Mr. Rubio stumped more for Ms. Lake than Mr. Trump, whom he predicted would win handily in Arizona and his home state, Florida. “They know we’re going to win because they know … Arizona is behind us,” the senator and one-time presidential candidate said.

And Mr. Crane, Maricopa’s voice in Congress, warned “our kids aren’t going to grow up with the same opportunities that we had” if Ms. Harris is elected next month.

He pledged a full-throated endorsement of Mr. Trump, and the crowd chanted, “fight, fight, fight,” after the freshman legislator said he had “never seen a guy fight as hard as this guy.”

As for Ms. Buchanan, the Maricopan? The objective she assigned Mr. Trump was fulfilled, she said in an interview about three hours after the rally. The former president was leading Ms. Harris by two points in Arizona in a New York Times/Siena poll today.

“I actually think he did pretty good,” she said. “When I listened to him and he was breaking down the no taxes on tips, the social security, even the tax deduction on American-made cars … hopefully he answered those questions for voters who have been undecided.”