Chasten Buttigieg thinks of himself as a story collector, gathering anecdotes from voters across the country to pass along to his husband, South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

Bruce Mann is Elizabeth Warren’s sounding board and joked that his most formal role in his wife’s campaign is managing their dog Bailey when he joins the Massachusetts senator in New Hampshire.

Doug Emhoff, California Sen. Kamala Harris’s husband, memorably rushed to her defense when a protester charged toward her on stage at an event.

In a presidential field with a historic number of women and the first openly gay candidate, those three are part of the largest-ever group of male spouses of White House contenders, and they are figuring out their roles in boosting their partners’ prospects.