Former Congressman Jim Slattery has a lot of fund-raising to do if he hopes to push aside fellow Democrat Lee Jones and go on to unseat two-term Senator Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts in November.

Slattery’s long-anticipated announcement that he would mount a challenge to Roberts came Tuesday. In the meantime, the Center for Responsive Politics reported that Roberts has amassed a campaign war chest of nearly $3 million as of March 31.

Slattery, a Democrat, served six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. He stepped down in 1994 to seek election as Kansas governor but was soundly defeated by Bill Graves.

He then moved to Virginia, where he has been a partner in a Washington, D.C., law firm and a registered lobbyist. He joins Lee Jones in seeking the Democratic nomination.

In making his announcement, Slattery called the conflict in Iraq "tragic," said the U.S. must reduce its reliance on foreign oil and added that current senators like Roberts had engaged in reckless spending. Roberts, Slattery said, “has become part of what we must change if we are to put our country back on track.”

Ashley McManus, spokesperson for the Roberts' campaign, said Slattery had been recruited by “Democratic Party bosses” to take on Roberts.

“Voters have a clear choice between Pat Roberts who has dedicated his life to helping Kansans, and Jim Slattery who stopped working for Kansas years ago so he could make millions for himself working for special interests,” McManus said.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius introduced Slattery at his Topeka announcement. Ironically, Roberts served as administrative assistant to Congressman Keith Sebelius, the governor’s father-in-law. Roberts then succeeded Keith Sebelius as a congressman in 1980 before moving on to the Senate in 1996, assuming the seat vacated by Nancy Landon Kassebaum, who retired.

Slattery first must face Jones, an Overland Park railroad engineer, in the August Democratic primary. Jones' campaign issued a statement pointing out that Slattery "has deep ties to the lobbying industry." Jones noted that Slattery, who has lived in the D.C. area for the past 15 years, "is a partner at Wiley Rein, LLP a Washington, D.C. law firm located on K-street. The lobbying firm employs over 230 lawyers and describes Slattery as one of its top lobbyists."

In opening coverage of the campaign, Kansas media outlets, including the Wichita Eagle, are accusing Roberts of launching "negative" ads against Slattery. The ads, paid for by the state GOP, point out that Slattery was a lobbyist and accuse him of being liberal.

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