Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) traveled to Georgia on Tuesday to headline a Jewish outreach event for Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign in the critical swing state.

The event in Atlanta included remarks by both Torres and Ilan Goldenberg, the Harris campaign’s Jewish liaison. It was purportedly the first time a Democratic presidential campaign has held a dedicated Jewish outreach event in Atlanta. Ensuring support among the state’s Jewish community of around 140,000 could be critical to a Harris victory; President Joe Biden won the state by less than 12,000 votes.

The event had 170 attendees, and Georgia state Rep. Esther Panitch, who was in attendance and introduced the speakers, described it to Jewish Insider as standing-room-only.

“People really wanted to know, they wanted to feel comfortable — or know if they could feel comfortable — voting for Harris related to Israel and Jewish issues,” Panitch said. “And the rousing applause at the end made it seem that the message was conveyed that she is the best for Israel … and for Jewish issues in the United States.” It was the New York congressman’s first trip as an official Harris campaign surrogate.

According to Torres’ campaign, Torres was the most-requested speaker by members of the Atlanta Jewish community. Torres, notably, has taken a stronger position in support of Israel’s prosecution of its wars against Iranian terror proxies than the administration.

Panitch said Torres and Goldenberg cast Harris as a “steady hand” on foreign policy. Panitch added that she found Harris’s recent comments on CBS’ “60 Minutes” describing Iran as the greatest adversary to the United States to be reassuring.

“I think [that] puts her more hawkish than even Biden, which I’m personally pleased by,” Panitch said, adding that that position should help Harris with the “one-issue Jewish voters that I’m hearing from.”

Pantich said the campaign surrogates addressed “real questions that the community wanted answers to … it wasn’t fluff, it wasn’t just normal party lines.”

She said that Torres had discussed why he is so outspoken in support of Israel and the Jewish people, and that Goldenberg had talked about his experience working with Harris on national security policy, including advising her during the Oct. 7 attack.

“[Goldenberg] relayed just how much she cared for the hostages and for the hostage families, and how prepared she wanted to be for meeting with the families — that it matters to her,” Panitch said. “We Jews can feel safer knowing that she really has our backs.”

Panitch said another message highlighted during the event was funding shortages for the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. Speakers said Democrats are seeking to increase funding for the office while Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s presidential transition proposal backed by a range of conservative groups, proposes eliminating the Department of Education.

The Trump campaign has attempted to distance itself from Project 2025.

“The Democratic Party has historically been the home of the pro-Israel community and will remain so under the leadership of future President Kamala Harris,” Torres said in a statement.

The New York congressman also spoke at a canvassing event in Fayette County earlier in the day.