Set selected option of select box

This definitely should work. Here's a demo. Make sure you have placed your code into a $(document).ready:

$(function() {
    $("#gate").val('gateway_2');
});

$(document).ready(function() {
    $("#gate option[value='Gateway 2']").prop('selected', true);
    // you need to specify id of combo to set right combo, if more than one combo
});