In a feisty speech on the steps of the state Capitol, Mark Shurtleff made his long-anticipated announcement that he is in the running for U.S. Senate.

"The winds of change, they are a-blowin'," Shurtleff proclaimed Wednesday. "Not the bigger-government, corporate-welfare, radical-liberal-nannyism kind of change promised and now being implemented by (President Barack) Obama."

Shurtleff is challenging incumbent Republican Sen. Bob Bennett, whom he accused of breaking promises to his constituents and overstaying his welcome in Washington, D.C.

"It's true that in Washington, seniority matters," Shurtleff said. "But not if that seniority is taking us in the wrong direction. More of the wrong medicine never cured anybody."

In his speech, Shurtleff sounded off about the "dangerous slope that could lead to socialism," touting himself as a supporter of a balanced budget amendment and property rights and someone with "conservative principles." His remarks were heavy on conservative rhetoric, invoking right-wing talk-show hosts, philosophers and patriotic heroes. Shurtleff, long considered a moderate, appears to be re-branding himself as more of a hard-line conservative.

"There's an anti-incumbent, anti-Washington, D.C., mood," said University of Utah political-science professor Tim Chambless, who watched Shurtleff's announcement Wednesday.

In an interview after his announcement, Shurtleff staunchly defended himself as a strong conservative, but acknowledged that he has been labeled more moderate on social issues.

"Certainly, I have to be able to respond to questions from people (on that)," he said. "But what we're facing is an economic crisis and the direction of this country and what this federal government is going to be like, and that has never changed with me."

Chambless and students in his political-science classes met last week with Bennett in Washington, where he said the senator acknowledged he was in the "political fight of his life." He views Shurtleff as a formidable challenger.

"The difficulty is getting out of the party convention," Chambless said.

Appearing to throw down the gauntlet, Bennett gave a brief statement about Shurtleff's announcement to the Deseret News.

"Welcome. Put on your hiking boots, and I'll see you on the campaign trail," he said.

Shurtleff knows that he faces stiff competition in the GOP convention against Tim Bridgewater and Bennett, saying he hopes to raise more than $1 million for his campaign war chest.

The attorney general acknowledged in his speech that the hardest hurdle for him to clear in running was his own family.