Daniel Mongiardo

Daniel Mongiardo
53rd Lt. Governor of Kentucky
Incumbent
Assumed office December 11, 2007
Governor	Steve Beshear
Preceded by	Steve Pence
Personal details
Born	(1960-07-04) July 4, 1960 Hazard, Kentucky
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Allison Patrick
Profession	Physician

Daniel Mongiardo, (born July 4, 1960) is an American physician and politician from the U.S. state of Kentucky. A Democrat, Mongiardo is the current Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky.

Before politics

Mongiardo was born to Italian immigrants in Hazard, Kentucky. He attended Transylvania University, where he was a member of the Kappa Alpha Order. He received his medical degree at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in 1986.

From 1986 to 2000, Mongiardo worked as a physician, first as a medical resident in Lexington, and later in his hometown of Hazard. In Hazard, he helped to establish a free clinic for the poor, volunteering his time while working at the Appalachian Regional Medical Centre, where he became Chief of Surgery and, later, Chief of Staff. The ARMC became a major health care center in eastern Kentucky, growing to house over a hundred doctors.

State Senator

Mongiardo entered politics in 2000, challenging Hazard's state senator with a campaign to reform health care in Kentucky. He won and was soon appointed to the Kentucky Senate's Health and Welfare Committee and a leadership role in the joint Medicaid Oversight Task Force.

2004 U.S. Senate race

In 2003, Mongiardo declared that he would run in the 2004 Senate election to unseat incumbent first-term Senator Jim Bunning, a former Major League Baseball player. Although early polls showed Mongiardo to be the decided underdog against the fairly popular and well-financed Bunning (Bunning had an estimated $4 million campaign war chest, while Mongiardo had only $600,000), he gained financial support from national Democrats in October 2004 due to Bunning's controversial remarks, negative attacks and use of a teleprompter during a televised debate with Mongiardo where Bunning participated via satellite link instead of in person.

Bunning was heavily favored for a second term in 2004 after his expected Democratic opponent, Governor Paul Patton, saw his career implode in a scandal over an extramarital affair, and the Democrats chose Daniel Mongiardo, a relatively unknown physician and state senator from Hazard. Bunning had an estimated $4 million campaign war chest, while Mongiardo had only $600,000. However, due to a number of controversial incidents involving Bunning, the Democrats began increasing financial support to Mongiardo when it became apparent that Bunning's bizarre behavior was costing him votes, purchasing more than $800,000 worth of additional television airtime on his behalf.

During his reelection bid, Bunnings's mental health was questioned. There was controversy when Bunning described Mongiardo as looking "like one of Saddam Hussein's sons." Public pressure compelled him to apologize. Bunning was also criticized for his use of a teleprompter during a televised debate with Mongiardo where Bunning participated via Satellite link instead of in person. Bunning was further criticized for making an unsubstantiated claim that his wife had been attacked by Mongiardo's supporters[5], and called Mongiardo "limp wristed".

The race turned out to be very close, with Mongiardo leading with as many as 80% of the returns coming in. However, Bunning eventually won by just over one percentage point. Some analysts felt that had it not been for George W. Bush's 20% victory in the state, Mongiardo would have won. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee began pumping money to Mongiardo when it became clear Mongiardo was closing rapidly in the polls, buying $800,000 of television airtime on his behalf.

The November 2 election was one of the closest in Kentucky history, with Mongiardo leading for much of the night, even with as much as 80% of the returns in. However, Bunning eventually won by just over a percentage point. It's speculated that Bunning may have benefited from George W. Bush's 20-point victory in the state and passage of the constitiutional amendment to ban same sex marriages by a 3-to-1 margin.

2007 Lieutenant Governor race

On May 22, 2007, Mongiardo was nominated by Kentucky Democrats to be Lt. Governor on the bottom half of a ticket featuring Steve Beshear as the gubernatorial nominee. The Beshear-Mongiardo ticket received over 40% of the vote in the closed primary, thus avoiding a runoff election. Beshear-Mongiardo faced incumbent Republican Governor Ernie Fletcher on November 6th, 2007 winning with 60% of the state vote.

Mongiardo did not risk losing his seat in the state senate because Kentucky holds its constitutional officer elections in odd years.

2010 U.S. Senate race

A December 15, 2008 article in The Hill newspaper reported that Mongiardo is considering a rematch against Sen. Jim Bunning in 2010.

Personal life

On June 21, 2008, Mongiardo married Allie Patrick in a ceremony in Covington, Kentucky.

See also

• Kentucky gubernatorial election, 2007

External links

• Official State Website - Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo
• Official Beshear and Mongiardo campaign site
• Follow the Money campaign contributions
  • 2006 2004 2002 2000
• Project Vote Smart - Senator Frank Daniel Mongiardo (KY) profile, issue positions, voting record, campaign finances
• Politics Nationwide - Senator Daniel Mongiardo profile