Jason Kander, the Missouri Democrat who might have had the best campaign ad of the 2016 election season, will deliver the keynote speech at the Colorado Democrats’ 84th Annual Dinner, the party announced Monday.

In a 30-second TV commercial that won widespread praise and became a viral internet sensation, Kander, an Army veteran and then-Missouri secretary of state, assembles an AR-15 rifle while blindfolded. While he’s doing that, he tells viewers his Republican opponent, Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, has been attacking him on gun rights.

Still blindfolded as he finishes putting together the firearm, Kander says he volunteered to be “an extra gun in a convoy of unarmored SUVs” while serving in Afghanistan and describes his votes to protect gun rights when he served in the Missouri legislature. Adding that he believes in background checks “so that terrorists can’t get their hands on one of these,” Kander finishes by saying, “I approve this message because I’d like to see Sen. Blunt do this.”

Kander lost the race against Blunt, but the contest was one of the closest in the country – he outperformed Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton by nearly 16 points in the balloting – and also ranked as among the most expensive, costing an estimated $75 million, including spending by outside groups.

The Democrats’ annual fundraising dinner – it used to be known as the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner – is set for Saturday, March 11, at the Denver Marriott City Center. Ticket to the dinner, the party’s signature annual fundraiser, are $150, with full tables going for as much as $10,000.

Earlier that same day, the party’s state central committee meets at the same hotel in downtown Denver to elect a party chair, 1st and 2nd vice chairs, secretary and treasurer.

The party also plans to hand out awards to notable Democrats, including  state Rep. Leslie Herod, D-Denver, the party’s Rising Star Award winner; U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, Democrat of the Year; Ted Fritschel of Arapahoe County, Volunteer of the Year; and Euell Santistevan, Jr., of Jefferson County and Taryn Sebba of Larimer County, the party’s Murphy Roberts Young Volunteers of the Year. Outgoing three-term Chairman Rick Palacio will also name the winner of the Chair’s Award for Service at the dinner.

Missouri’s senior senator, Democrat Claire McCaskill, spoke at the Colorado dinner a few years back. Other keynote speakers have included both Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders at last year’s dinner, Minnesota Sen. Al Franken, Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker when he was mayor of Newark, New Jersey.

– ernest@coloradostatesman.com