By Rachel Kapochunas, CQ Staff

Former Democratic Rep. Jim Slattery jump‑started what has been a relatively low-profile Senate bid Tuesday by officially announcing his intention to run against Kansas Republican Sen. Pat Roberts .

In several campaign stops, Slattery said the country’s reliance on foreign oil has contributed to national security concerns, and he highlighted the country’s economic problems, high gas prices and the ongoing war in Iraq in his speech.

Slattery, who was elected to the House in 1982 and served for 12 years, indicated his intention to run for Senate more than a month ago, but shunned all major publicity since then, avoiding media interviews and operating a website that was bare until Tuesday. Slattery has been out of the public eye since 1994, when he lost a gubernatorial bid and has since been working as a lawyer and lobbyist in Washington.

He offers Democrats a candidate who has some experience and name recognition in the state, creating a match up that prompted CQ Politics in April to change its rating of the race from Safe Republican to the more competitive Republican Favored.

Slattery still faces an uphill battle in a state that is a traditional Republican stronghold against a well-connected and well-funded incumbent. Roberts reported $3.2 million raised as of March 31 and was left with nearly $3 million remaining after expenditures, according to the Federal Election Commission. Slattery reported nearly $300,000 raised as of March 31.