On Thursday evening, second gentleman Doug Emhoff headlined back-to-back fundraisers urging Los Angeles’s prominent Democratic families to dip into their pocketbooks and engage their network to get Vice President Kamala Harris elected president.
The first event took place at the private residence of Dr. Patricia Gordon in Hancock Park and the second at the The Law Offices of Wilkie Farr & Gallagher LLP in Century City.
In Hancock Park, Emhoff touted Harris’s accomplishments as well as his own work to advance gender equality and fight antisemitism. He emphasized the high stakes of the election and offered up criticism of former President Donald Trump, the GOP nominee.
Emhoff proudly noted his work to help the Biden-Harris administration create the first-ever national strategy to combat antisemitism.
“One issue she (Harris) really pushed me to lean into was the fight against antisemitism,” he said. “Being the first Jewish person ever to be a White House principal, I really took it as my duty, my responsibility, to our Jewish community, to do that.”
If elected, Emhoff said Harris will “work around the clock” to establish peace in the Israel-Hamas war and bring home the remaining Israeli hostages.
He also spoke about the Biden-Haris administration’s efforts to further gender equality and the historic significance of him being the first second gentleman and his wife the first female vice president.
The event host Patricia Gordon is a radiation oncologist specializing in cervical cancer and a strong supporter of women’s reproductive rights. In March she hosted First Lady Jill Biden for a fundraiser that raised over $1 million for the Biden Victory Fund.
Gordon said she was thrilled to host Emhoff who, alongside Harris, is on a “mission to ensure our country remains committed to progression, not regression.”
“Never has an election been more important, but never has a potential outcome been more exciting,” she added.
The Trump-Vance campaign also has its eyes set on Southern California’s dollars. Vance is scheduled to speak at a fundraiser in San Diego on Friday and another in Los Angeles on Sunday. Then, Trump will swing into town next Thursday, Sept. 12, to fill his campaign coffers at an L.A. reception.
Since entering the race just over a month ago, Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign has raised over $540 million, according to a memo released by campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon. Meanwhile, Trump’s campaign committee and related affiliates reported raising nearly $140 million in July and holding $327 million cash on hand at the start of August.
While Emhoff’s Los Angeles fundraising swing takes him close to his Brentwood home, he will not have much time to relax. On Sunday, will be back on the campaign trail in Wayne, Pennsylvania where he will meet with volunteers and kickoff a neighborhood canvass at a Harris-Walz coordinated campaign field office.
