JD Vance rally attendees braved triple-digit heat to hear him. Some needed medical help

Hundreds of Arizonans gathered in the blazing heat outside Generation Church in Mesa on Wednesday afternoon to see and hear Republican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance.

A high temperature well above 105 degrees wasn't enough to turn away devoted followers of the 2024 Republican ticket who wanted to witness speeches by Vance, a U.S. senator from Ohio, and former President Donald Trump's running mate; Kari Lake, the Arizona GOP nominee for the Senate; and Charlie Kirk, the Turning Point USA founder whose organization sponsored the event.

Fourteen patients were treated for heat-related illnesses, and one was taken to the hospital, according to Mesa Fire Department spokesperson Marrisa Ramírez-Ramos.

Turning Point Action organizers handed out water to the crowd and set up shade tents in an effort to combat the high temperatures.

Attendees used limited onsite parking or shuttled in from the nearby Lowe's store. Erik Wilson from Mesa was not one of those attendees, having rode his electric bicycle more than four miles in the heat to attend the event.

"This isn't my first rodeo," said Wilson, his sunhat flopping in the hot breeze.

Wilson said he relied on his bicycle as his primary means of transportation.

"I felt inspired after I saw my first Trump rally in Glendale," Wilson said. He hoped to hear from Vance about border security and rally behind Trump alongside fellow attendees.

Across heavy security that culminated in full-body scan and pocket-emptying, Wilson, like hundreds of other attendees, entered the church by 4 p.m.

Kenneth Malloque from nearby Pinal County saw the Vance event as opportunity to become more informed on the Republican party ticket, and to see Lake, the former longtime news anchor who previously ran for governor in 2022.

"I've listened to Kari Lake quite a bit, but honestly, I didn't vote for her in the primary because I liked Sheriff (Mark) Lamb better. She didn't even show up at the debate between them," Malloque said.

Malloque typically escapes the desert heat for a home in the White Mountains in cooler northern Arizona, but attending the rally provided him a chance to get to see and hear Vance and other Republican office-seekers up close and personal.

"I don't know Vance hardly at all. ... This is my opportunity to listen to him and hear what he has to say. Of course, I won't be able to ask any questions," he chuckled.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: JD Vance in Arizona: Mesa rally attendees brave triple-digit heat