U.S. Sen. Cory Booker is set to headline the Colorado Democratic Party’s annual fundraising dinner in March in Denver, the party said Tuesday.

The popular former two-term mayor of Newark, N.J., was elected in 2013 to the U.S. Senate in a special election and has been twice reelected to full terms. In 2020, he was among nearly two dozen Democrats who sought the presidential nomination but dropped out of the primary before the Iowa caucuses.

It will be Booker’s second appearance in a dozen years headlining the state party’s signature fundraiser.

Colorado Democratic Party Chair Shad Murib called Booker an ideal orator to rev up the party faithful in a decisive election year.

“His commitment to justice, equality, and progressive values aligns perfectly with the principles we hold dear as Democrats,” Murib said in a statement. “We look forward to hearing his insights and gaining inspiration for the crucial journey ahead in the 2024 election.”

Said Booker: “This event is a testament to the dedication and passion of Democrats in Colorado who are working tirelessly for a better future. Together, we will build a movement that embodies our shared values and drives us toward victory in the 2024 election.”

The state Democrats’ 7th annual Obama Gala is scheduled for March 23 in the Seawell Ballroom at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, with tickets ranging from $225 for individual plates up to $10,000 for the priciest tables.

Earlier that day, the state party is throwing a free event at the DCPA, dubbed Colorado DemFest, which will include candidates for University of Colorado regent and Democratic National Committee members.

New this year, Colorado Democrats plan to hold satellite fundraising dinners this summer, with a dinner in Grand Junction in July and one in Pueblo in September, a party spokeswoman said.

Booker’s previous appearance as keynote speaker for the Colorado Democrats was in 2012, before his election to the U.S. Senate, when the mayor — made famous in the Academy Award-nominated documentary “Street Fight” — was traveling the country to promote Barack Obama’s bid for a second term.

In a speech that began with a story about his excitement over getting an upgrade to first-class only to realize he’d boarded the wrong flight, Booker touched on topics that might come up in this year’s address.

“We can’t sit back and think that democracy is a spectator sport, where we just sit back in our living rooms and get caught up in a state of sedentary agitation,” said Booker, drawing laughter from the crowd. After calling out “denizens of divisiveness” Booker said were beginning to “dominate our political dialogue,” he added: “I cannot stand for an America where certain people are more interested in putting other folks down than lifting all of us up.”

“They are violating the fundamental principle that I was taught by my granddaddy as a boy, that you should never look down on another unless you’re willing to reach your hand there and pick them up,” he said.

Colorado Republicans haven’t yet scheduled this year’s Centennial Dinner fundraiser, but state GOP chairman Dave Williams told Colorado Politics it will likely take place near the party’s state assembly and convention, set for April 6 at the State Fairgrounds in Pueblo.

Held last fall, the GOP’s most recent state fundraising dinner featured keynote speaker Kari Lake, Arizona’s 2022 gubernatorial nominee and a candidate this year to represent the state in the U.S. Senate. The Colorado GOP’s previous keynoter was U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona.

Previous keynoters at the Colorado Democrats’ dinner include last year’s speaker, U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, who chaired the bipartisan House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol; U.S. Rep. Grace Meng and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both of New York; U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff of California; and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who addressed the fundraiser when she was a newly elected congresswoman from New Mexico.