Douglas Emhoff is set to become America’s first second gentleman after Joe Biden was declared the next President and his wife, Kamala Harris was declared the next Vice President on Nov. 7. Learn more about the loving and supportive husband here.
Lawyer Douglas Emhoff is making history as the first second gentleman of the United States. His new title was confirmed after Democratic nominee Joe Biden was projected to be the President-elect and Douglas’s wife, California Sen. Kamala Harris, was projected to be the Vice President-elect in the 2020 presidential election on Nov. 7. Kamala — born of Jamaican and Indian immigrant parents — is also making history as America’s first female, Black and South-Asian vice president.
Shortly after Joe and Kamala’s victory was announced, Douglas took to Twitter to share a sweet photo of himself giving his lady love a big hug after she found out the wonderful news. “So proud of you,” he wrote in the caption along with two red heart and two American flag emojis.
He was also by Kamala’s side later that night when she and Joe gave their first speeches as President-elect and Vice President-elect in Delaware. He confidently held her hand and waved to the in-person crowd after the amazing night and Joe even called the happy couple “family” during his epic time addressing the nation. “Kamala, Doug, like it or not, you’re family. You’ve become an honorary Biden, there’s no way out,” he said with a smile.
Ever since Joe revealed Kamala was his VP pick in Aug., Douglas vowed to be “ready to work” as the Nov. 3 Election Day drew closer and closer, and that’s exactly what he did. So, who’s the lucky man that gets to be Kamala’s husband? Here’s the answer to that question below:
1. Kamala’s husband has worked in law for more than 25 years. Douglas shares a love for law with Kamala. He attended University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law, and is now a partner at DLA Piper (a global law firm). “He represents large domestic and international corporations and some of today’s highest profile individuals and influencers in complex business, real estate and intellectual property litigation disputes,” Douglas’s bio reads on the law firm’s website.
2. Douglas also specializes in entertainment law. One of his clients included TBWA, the ad agency which developed the Taco Bell Chihuahua. This led Wrench, a company based in Michigan, to sue Taco Bell over breach of contract because it claimed to have created the “Psycho Chihuahua,” according to Douglas’s profile in The Hollywood Reporter. Douglas kept TBWA from taking on the financial burden of this lawsuit bill.
3. Douglas met Kamala through a blind date. Before Kamala entered his life, Douglas was married to a woman named Kerstin whom he welcomed two children with (a son named Cole, who graduated from Colorado College in 2017, and their daughter Ella, who is studying at Parsons School of Design, according to a 2018 Vogue article).
After Douglas divorced from Kerstin, he was a single dad who was eventually set up on a blind date with Kamala by PR consultant Chrisette Hudlin in 2013, according to his aforementioned profile in THR. It was a great idea, because Douglas and Kamala were married by 2014. Kamala now even has a close relationship with Douglas’s children, as well as her husband’s ex-wife!
“They [Douglas’s kids] are my endless source of love and pure joy. I am so thankful to Doug, to Kerstin, and most of all, to Ella and Cole,” the senator wrote in an Elle essay for Mother’s Day 2019. Douglas and his two children even posed for a sweet photo to share on Kamala’s 54th birthday in Oct. 2018, which you can see above.
4. Douglas is Kamala’s #1 cheerleader and put his career on hold to campaign for her and Joe. He is often seen by the senator’s side at events, repping her “Kamala” T-shirt and his Twitter page is basically a fan account for Kamala, where he often retweets her posts and television appearances. He also shares sneak peeks into their married life, such as this fireworks date. His presence in her and Joe’s presidential campaign didn’t go unnoticed and he proved he would go above and beyond to support his wife and her opportunity to become vice president.
From spending his 56th birthday asking for votes in Virginia parking lots to greeting potential voters in his Biden-Harris gear in such a low-key way that most people didn’t realize who he was, he has been there for Kamala when she was running for president and then vice president, and his dedication has never wavered. Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), who has campaigned with Emhoff, even called him an election-year “sensation”, the Washington Post reported.
5. The lawyer considers himself an “advocate for justice and equality.” Douglas has lived up to his Twitter bio by being a champion for multiple causes, like the Black Lives Matter movement and LGBTQ rights. He even attended San Francisco Pride in 2019, where he jumped up on the backseat of a car with Kamala and busted out his best dance moves for the crowd (which you can enjoy above).