PHOENIX (CN) — A furious monsoon couldn't keep hundreds of people from a town hall event for Republican vice presidential nominee Gov. Mike Pence in downtown Phoenix Tuesday night.
Attendees started lining up at the Phoenix Convention Center around 3 p.m. for Pence's evening event, braving heat, humidity and downpours to see the Indiana governor.
Severe monsoons hit the Arizona capital late Tuesday afternoon, flooding portions of Interstate 17, and dropping more than 2 inches of rain in an hour.
The audience of about 300 amped themselves up before Pence took the stage, chanting, "We like Mike!" and "USA!"
Arizona, which has gone Republican since Bill Clinton narrowly won the state in 1996, may be a battleground state this election.
A poll conducted Monday by OH Predictive Insights found 45 percent of voters in the state supporting Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, with 42 percent opting for Trump. The remaining 13 percent were undecided or supported third-party candidates.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio kicked off the event, entering the stage to raucous applause, a standing ovation and shouts of "Joe!"
"I just met Gov. Pence of Indiana," the six-term lawman began. "Got to apologize to him for the rain. I can do a lot of things, but I can't stop it."
Arpaio immediately launched into praise of Trump.
"Thirteen months ago in this building I stood next to him. I supported him way back," Arpaio said. "If you recall, I said my gut tells me he will be the next president of the United States."
Arpaio expressed frustration with the media treatment of Trump's criticism of the parents of an American Muslim soldier who was killed in Iraq. After Khizr Khan's speech at the Democratic National Convention, Trump asked whether Khan's wife, Ghazala, remained silent because their Muslim faith would not allow her to speak.
Ghazala Khan said that her silence was due to her grief for her son's death.
Army Capt. Humayun S.M. Khan, recipient of a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart, was killed in 2004 by a vehicle filled with explosives.
Trump also has claimed that Khizr Khan's speech was prepared by the Clinton campaign.
"I know his heart," Arpaio said of Trump. "I'm very sad at the heat he's taken, especially from the media."
Arpaio, who is running for re-election, was found in contempt of court this year for violating a federal court order in a racial profiling class action. He faces possible criminal charges.
Former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer also spoke before Pence took the stage, extolling time spent working with him while she was governor.
"He's not afraid to call a terrorist a terrorist," Brewer said. "He's not afraid to salute our flag, wear a flag pin, say the pledge of allegiance."
Brewer asked voters to keep Clinton out of the White House.
"Donald Trump is the right person for the job, and Mike Pence is the right person for the job," Brewer said. "Together they will fight radical Islamic terrorism. And together they will secure our border and build that wall."
Pence spoke to the crowd for about 30 minutes, then took questions.