Jeannette Hinkle

Arizona Republic

Donna Messinger says she’s been to every rally President Donald Trump has held in Arizona.

"And I’m always first in line," she said.

Messinger, 66, couldn’t attend the president’s 2020 re-election launch on Tuesday in Orlando, but she was an early arrival to the “MAGA Meet Up” hosted by campaign group Trump Victory and the Arizona Republican Party at the state GOP headquarters in Phoenix.

“This is his coming out party,” said Messinger, who wore a fuschia pink Women for Trump shirt and matching lipstick. “It’s huge. I wanted to be with like minds. I wanted to celebrate and scream and yell and have people standing with me and behind me to promote President Trump’s re-election.”

About 130 people attended the watch party, according to a count taken by Arizona Republican Party officials. Attendees, many wearing red Make America Great Again hats, crowded a room decorated with multiple cardboard cutouts of first lady Melania Trump and of the president giving two thumbs up.

Before Trump took the stage, Kelli Ward, the Arizona Republican Party chairwoman, welcomed the crowd.

“I look forward to working with and for all of you to win big in 2020, not just President Trump, but Republicans all the way down the ballot,” Ward said. “We are going to hold our Legislature and expand our Republican majority.”

Though Messinger said the country’s economic strength under Trump has impressed her, it’s his efforts to improve border security and deport the country’s undocumented people that have earned her continued support.

“I want to continue with the immigration issues,” Messinger said. “It's paramount now. It's gotten way out of hand. It's an important issue across America. They're coming in with more issues than we could ever have dreamed of, then they’re being shipped out across America.”

Arizona, where Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton by about 3½ percentage points in the 2016 election, is considered a key battleground state in the 2020 election.

Sharon Flint, 51, recently decided to join the battle, and she’ll be fighting for Trump. A Facebook post making fun of the president posted by her brother prompted her to ride her bicycle to the Arizona Republican Party headquarters a few weeks ago, she said.

“I was like, ‘What can I do to help?'” Flint said, holding a small American flag in her hand.

Flint and others faced the front of the room where three television screens showed Trump take the stage in Orlando. The crowd cheered for minutes when Vice President Mike Pence introduced Trump and the first lady, and as the president took the stage, they broke out into a chant of “Trump! Trump! Trump!”

Ronna McDaniel, the Republican National Committee chairwoman, said Trump has kept his promises and "is delivering for all Americans."

"As a result, we are seeing unprecedented engagement from every day Americans who want to be a part of this movement," she said in a written statement. "Just this week, we are training and activating thousands of new volunteers to add to our grassroots army. We are ready to re-elect President Trump and continue to Make America Great Again."

Other Arizona watch parties had been scheduled for Phoenix's Ahwatukee area; Mesa; Sun City; Kingman; and Tucson.