Photo by M.V. Jantzen

Mayor Vince Gray and Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley will be the special guests at an October 2 Logan Circle fundraiser for Marylanders for Marriage Equality, the coalition fighting for same-sex marriage to be approved by the state’s voters in November. (Maine, Minnesota and Washington will also vote on same-sex marriage, but due to poll closing times and time zones Maryland will be the first state to report out the results.)

Marylanders for Marriage Equality has looked beyond the confines of the state for support, hosting a September 13 fundraiser in New York with celebrities including Sarah Jessica Parker, Russell Simmons and John Waters. The strategy makes sense: given the fact that Maryland could be the first state to vote in favor of same-sex marriage in November, advocates want to gather as much support from as many quarters as possible.

Though the Maryland General Assembly approved same-sex marriage earlier this year, it’s implementation was put off for a year under the expectation that opponents would gather enough signatures to put it on the November ballot; in June, they did. According to polls, same-sex marriage enjoys the support of majority of voters: in May, 57 percent of those Marylanders polled said they’d vote for it, while an August poll put support at 54 percent.

Tickets to the October 2 fundraiser start at $250 and go up to $1,000. The first—and only—campaign finance reports for groups in support and those opposed are due in early October. Marylanders for Marriage Equality has said that it plans on spending between $5-7 million leading up to November.