Democratic candidate for New York City mayor Zohrab Mamdani gave an emotional speech outside a Bronx mosque on Friday (October 24) just one day before early voting begins in the New York City mayoral election, responding to “racist and baseless attacks” from his political opponents over his Muslim identity.

Criticizing his opponents for bringing hate to the forefront, Mamdani said, “His rivals have brought hate to the center of politics. This Islamophobia affects not only him, but also the nearly one million Muslims living in New York.”

“Being born a Muslim in New York means experiencing humiliation. But humiliation does not separate us. It is our tolerance of this humiliation that separates us,” Mamdani said, less than two weeks before the general election on November 4.

Mamdani, a New York state assemblyman, said his campaign has largely focused on cost of living and affordability issues, but Islamophobia has emerged as a point of consensus among his rivals in recent days.

The speech comes as his main rival, former Governor Andrew Cuomo, laughed off Islamophobic comments in a radio interview. “Mamdani would be happy, he would cheer if there was another 9/11,” said the show’s host, Sid Rosenberg.

“The suggestion that a Muslim elected official would rejoice in another 9/11 is reprehensible, dangerous, and politically inept. Cuomo crossed a moral line with this statement,” said Basim Elkara, executive director of the Muslim rights group CAIR Action, in a statement.

Mamdani also expressed anger against Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa. He said, “I was called a ‘supporter of global jihad’ in the debate. The ads of the super political action committee portrayed me as a terrorist. They even mocked my eating habits.”

In his speech, Mamdani also spoke about his own family’s experiences. He said that after 9/11, an aunt of his stopped using the subway while wearing a hijab because of insecurity. One of his employees had the word “terrorist” spray-painted on his garage. He was even advised not to reveal his Muslim identity if he wanted to win the election.

On the same day, Friday, he received a significant endorsement. Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader of the US House of Representatives, officially endorsed him. In addition, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders have also previously endorsed him. However, some members of the Democratic Party’s upper echelons, most notably Senator Chuck Schumer, have not yet taken a stand in his favor. Nevertheless, Mamdani is now ahead in the general election after winning the party’s primary election by a large margin last June.

Meanwhile, current Mayor Eric Adams, who has been embroiled in a corruption scandal, recently endorsed Cuomo after withdrawing his candidacy. A recently released poll found that 43.2 percent of voters favor Mamdani. Cuomo received 28.9 percent, Sliwa 19.4 percent, and 8.4 percent of voters are still undecided. The poll found that the cost of living is the biggest issue for two-thirds of voters, followed by public safety and housing costs.