What are they for? Pump up the base. Is there any real reason to have these things?
I attended a rally for Walter Mondale in 1984. Fat lot of good it did.
Of course, I live in California where presidential political rallies are nonexistent nowadays.
They energize (potentially) three sets of voters:
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The ones who actually attend the rally. (Here in Wisconsin, a few thousand voters will likely make all the difference. Sure, most rally-goers are already in the bag for the visiting candidate, but not all of them).
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Others in the same state (or same region within that state) who will be reassured that the candidate cares about people like them. (After the 2016 election, Hillary was famously pilloried for “never visiting Wisconsin,” though that’s not quite true). This is probably the most important effect, though it’s debatable just how much.
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Nationwide, people seeing that the candidate is working to earn votes, not just lazily relying on their base. Kind of the opposite of the OP’s assertion, actually.
Finally: the candidate needs to make speeches somewhere – parts of which will be seen or heard by people nationwide – so they may as well make them in positive-energy, high-support public events, so voters everywhere can get enthusiastic bout being part of a larger movement. It’s rather like how most musical acts (rock bands, etc.) feed off the energy at live shows. Even better when the crowd composition is different each time (by geography, for starters)…more chance that someone, somewhere else, will identify with people in it (e.g., Hispanic suburban women in Las Vegas feeling a connection to Hispanic suburban women getting excited on the news in a rally in Charlotte, or whatever).
They also energize the base to donate money and volunteer to get out the vote. This was a lot more important before social media, texting, and email. Trump has huge rallies in places like Newport Beach, CA even though he has no chance in hell of winning California. He does it because that’s where the wealthy GOP donars are found.
Some friends and I rode our bikes to a Reagan rally at a large park in Fountain Valley, CA when I was in high school (1980). None of us were Reagan supporters (nor old enough to vote) and we could barely see the stage or hear anything. Other than that, the only rally I have been to was the big one Stewart and Colbert staged in 2010 in DC.
I went to a Jerry Brown rally because I was curious about what he had to say.
I went to an Obama rally. Security was really stout, even in Portland. It was indoors and if you didn’t have an advance ticket, don’t even think about trying to get in. He did the usual “yes, we can” thing and everyone there was already going to vote for him. So it was just wanting to see him in person, I guess.
Nowadays I don’t do crowds of people. Too many nutjobs with guns out there for my liking.
I’ve been to a few
I went to a Bernie Sanders rally in Iowa in 2020.
I went to a Pete Buttigeig rally in Iowa in 2020.
I went to an Obama rally in 2008.
All 3 of these rallies were during the presidential primary to pump up voters and get them motivated to vote for these candidates in the presidential primary.
I went to another rally around 2017 maybe, but I honestly forget who it was even for (I don’t think it was for his wife Hillary, it was for something else). I know Bill Clinton was there, and a federal level democrat who I forget. I don’t remember the purpose of that rally
Over 20 years ago I attended a rally for Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. There were reports that she was flirting with antisemitism. She and her supporters at that rally totally convinced me that the reports were 100% true. Many of her supporters were spouting antisemitic conspiracy theories including the use of common slurs.
I voted for her opponent. Who won. McKinney predictably reacted by blaming The Jews.
She’s very consistent that way. Last year she was promoting a livestream with Ayo Kimathi who was arguing for an alliance between White and Black nationalists against the Jews. At some point she jumped down the rabbit hole and just kept on digging.
I haven’t been following her career since then. Looks like she’s gotten worse, if anything over the last twenty years.
A ton in the last eight years. I might be missing some, but: Trump, Clinton, Cruz, Buttigieg, Kasich, Rubio, Christie (is 73 people in a room a rally?), Gabbard.
We went to a Bernie rally, but after waiting three hours we asked a security guard what the deal was, and he said Bernie was held up but that Shailene Woodley would be out in about half an hour, so we left to get sushi.
They’re a terrific place to people-watch, and see how inspiring people are up close (instead of how telegenic they are).
I went to the Colbert/Stewart rally because I lived in DC and it was fun.
Coach was in a rally 50 miles from me and I didn’t find out until it was too late 
Which coach?
I saw Bernie Sanders in the rain and had a great time.
In 1988 losing VP candidate Lloyd Betson did a rally on my college campus. I guess that’s what it was supposed to be. They ran him up, he gave a five minute speech and then ran off. It was pointless. It was a day or two before the election as I recall.
I saw Obama speak in 2008 in Santa Barbara in the early days of the campaign. He did a very high end thing at Oprah’s the day before and this was for the plebes. He was very magnetic and inspiring in person. It was in a big open space on the Junior College campus.
Oh, Elizabeth Warren. I’ve always been tepid on her, but she was fantastic in person…I was really surprised.
It’s possible that I would attend a political rally if you paid me. Be prepared for a fierce negotiation.
4 years ago I received 2 unsolicited tickets for a rally for Patty Murray, a Senator from my state. My wife and I decided to go, it wasn’t far from our home. We arrived and got in line just as the gates opened. We saw that some folks that were waiting were not allowed to enter. A couple that was leaving was telling everyone that unless you planned to donate to the state Democratic party, don’t expect to be allowed to enter. A guy near us told those in earshot to just toss a couple bucks in the bucket and you will get in. I threw $6 in the bucket and my wife and I were let in. The rally was more to get Trump out of office than to get anyone elected. My wife felt sorry for the pro-Trump people outside the rally, the abuse heaped upon them was nasty and crude. I reminded her that it was probably the same for pro-Biden folks outside of Trump rallies.