Second gentleman to host $1,000 a plate fundraiser in Connecticut for Biden
Second gentleman Doug Emhoff will headline a $1,000-a-plate luncheon for President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign Thursday afternoon in Wethersfield, according to the host.
Emhoff, who is married to Vice President Kamala Harris, has frequently served as a campaign surrogate since becoming the nation’s first male spouse of a president or vice president in 2021. Last week, he reportedly helped raise $1.5 million for Biden’s campaign at a fundraiser hosted by Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, whose hometown is in Connecticut.
The host of Thursday’s event is state Sen. Matt Lesser, D-Middletown, who told CT Insider that he was contacted by a friend working with the Biden campaign earlier this year to see if he was interested in holding a fundraiser in central Connecticut. “When they dangled the second gentleman, I got really excited,” Lesser said.
Lesser said the lunch will take place at a private home in Wethersfield, and is expected to raise a “low six figure” amount for the Biden Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee that helps raise money for state parties to support Democrats in November. Gov. Ned Lamont is among those who have RSVP’d to attend, Lesser said.
The location in a suburb outside of Hartford is atypical for an appearance for a major campaign surrogate, who tend to stick to tonier communities along Long Island Sound.
“Usually, people swing into Fairfield County or New York or something,” Lesser said. “We’re off the beaten path, so this is a rare opportunity.”
In February, First Lady Jill Biden spoke at a fundraiser for her husband at the Guilford home of philanthropists Dr. Jerry Meyer and Roz Milstein Meyer.
Lesser said he has spoken on the phone with Emhoff, but has not been told what the second gentleman plans to talk about at the lunch. Emhoff, who is Jewish, has spoken out recently on the rise of antisemitism that followed in the wake of Hamas’ attacks on Israel last October.
Emhoff was also in attendance last week to watch the UConn Huskies’ national championship victory over Purdue in Glendale, Ariz., where he briefly interacted with Lamont, according to a spokeswoman.
Both Biden and his opponent in November, former President Donald Trump, handedly won Connecticut’s presidential primary earlier this month amid historically low turnout.