I hear this word “movement” used among groups of people who have come to know and love Mayor Pete. Not simply a campaign, it appears to be a movement, with the lofty goal of reclaiming American values of Freedom, Security, and Democracy. Movement seems a fitting word to describe a campaign that in the past three months added close to 300,000 individual donors. That’s 100,000 a month or on average 3,000 a day. And the response to his performance in the first democratic primary debate suggests this trend will only continue.

Buttigieg, with his message of belonging, eschews divisive categories in favor of the category to which we all belong, “Americans.” He embodies qualities of leadership that are most urgently needed at a time when, as Pete says, “we may be under-reacting” to the current danger.

While pundits endlessly dissect the details of the racial unrest in South Bend, few would deny that Mayor Pete showed true leadership in his response. He was fully present to take in the rage directed at him, without a hint of running away or retaliating. He listened. In doing so he helped to contain the community’s distress, allowing people to think more clearly and work together to come up with meaningful solutions.

Not to say he does not also have plans and policies. As person who works with opioid using mothers and their babies, I found his grasp of the complexity of the opioid epidemic striking. Just this week he reveal a new national service plan that is not only specific but also innovative and original.

Not simply running for for office, he is running to “win the era.” It is perhaps fitting on this 4th of July that in writing about Pete, the line from Hamilton comes to mind, “This is not a moment it’s the movement.” Let’s hope that the movement continues to grow.