Second gentleman Doug Emhoff lays out election stakes at Fire Island Pines fundraiser

Two of the most prominent Democratic political spouses in America — Chasten Buttigieg and second gentleman Doug Emhoff, husbands of U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and prospective nominee Kamala Harris, respectively — told guests at a Friday fundraiser in Fire Island Pines that the Democratic vice president would beat former President Donald Trump.

As Trump held his own event in Southampton, they carried a message that seemed specially tuned for visitors to the storied gay and lesbian vacation community, warning their rights were at stake.

“The right to love who you want to love, the right to marry who you want to marry, to do what you want in your home, with who you love, without the government over your shoulder … this affects all of you,” said Emhoff, a lawyer who warned the crowd that recent Supreme Court decisions could have grave implications. “We need to have an army for freedom, an army for justice, led by my wife, Kamala Harris.”

One of the event hosts, Andrew Tobias, announced at the event it had raised $321,000, an amount he said dwarfed most recent political fundraisers held on Fire Island. Tickets sold for between $250 and $25,000, according to the campaign. The campaign did not say how many tickets were sold or give a breakdown of ticket sales, but it appeared there were roughly 150 attendees.

The event, held at the beach house of Marius Meland, a founder of legal news service Law360, and Eng Kian Ooi, came the same day as the Harris campaign announced it raised $310 million in July, a haul powered by what it said was the best grassroots fundraising month in presidential history. The Trump campaign said Thursday it raised $138.7 million in July.

Democratic political consultant Hank Sheinkopf said the money raised showed Fire Island has become a campaign destination along with more established fundraising locales like the Hamptons and the North Shore Gold Coast.

“They’re turning around a significant sum of money, yes, but more importantly … they’re building a constituency” with politically engaged small donors, Sheinkopf said.

“People who write checks for $100,000 and better are not knocking on doors, but people who write checks for $250 will do that,” Sheinkopf said. “They will make phone calls, drop emails, post on social media.”

Lawrence Levy, executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University, wrote in an email that the Harris campaign had likely made the safe bet that Chasten Buttigieg, husband of the most famous openly gay politician in the country, would be a strong draw on Fire Island, generating cash and buzz. While New York’s electoral college votes have historically gone Democratic, “there could be important benefits for [helping] down-ballot candidates for Congress in New York, which has enough competitive races to swing control of the House,” he wrote.

The guests munching hamburgers on the bayfront home’s deck were mostly men. Daniel Salas, 25, a fundraiser for an environmental advocacy organization from Manhattan’s Columbus Circle neighborhood, said he was motivated primarily by his support of Harris’ environmental policies. Climate, he said, is “a huge issue for so many voters, especially young people.”

Jack Kabin, 98, a retired teacher from Port Washington who has visited Fire Island for 50 years, said he came out to “support the Democratic ticket” because he feared what a loss could mean — lost liberties, including the right to gay marriage, he said.

“We are at risk of going back," he said.