First we thought he was might get in, then we were a little more sure of it. But all of the sudden, former Democratic Congressman Jim Slattery decided not to challenge Republican Senator Pat Roberts in the Kansas Senate election this cycle. Now, however, word has it that Slattery is rethinking his decision (h/t Senate Guru).

Slatts just called. He's looking. He's thinking. "It's not going to take long," he said of making a decision.

He'd like some clarity on the presidential race before pulling the trigger. "That's not the sole consideration, but it's certainly a factor, as you can imagine."

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Former 2nd District Kansas Congressman Jim Slattery tells Prime Buzz he's reconsidering his decision not to challenge two-term incumbent Sen. Pat Roberts this year.

Slattery, a Democrat, weighed the race last year before backing away.

The only Democrat in the race now is Lee Jones, a 56-year-old railroad engineer from Overland Park who ran unsuccessfully for the Senate in 2004.

Insiders say Jones is not positioned to give Roberts, a Republican, a major challenge.

More later.

"He'd like some clarity on the presidential race before pulling the trigger" presumably means that Slattery is waiting to see what the likelihood is that Barack Obama will be the Democratic nominee. Leaving aside other questions over issues of electability or general strength in red areas, there's little debate over the likelihood that Obama, who has Kansas ties and who had an active campaign organization running in the state in the lead up to its nominating contest on February 5, would have stronger coattails (or less negative coattails) in Kansas than would Hillary Clinton.

With Slattery in, this would likely be another one of those races that wouldn't be in the top-tier but would nevertheless potentially be competitive by November. Roberts isn't the most popular Senator in the world, and his waffling on jobs issues isn't going to make him more well-liked. What's more, Kansas is seemingly becoming more purple (coming from a deep red), with Democratic congressional candidates in the state picking up 49.6 percent of the statewide two-party House vote in 2006. So with a candidate who has a number of wins in the state under his belt like Slattery (he served the State in the House of Representatives for a dozen years), this could end up on the map -- particularly in the instance that Roberts slips somehow. And at the least, a Slattery candidacy would help put the Republicans on the defensive in yet another state, thus helping the broader cause of bringing more and better Democrats to the United States Senate.