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.

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.

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.

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. ^[1]

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. ^[2] 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. ^[3]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". ^[4]

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.

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.

A December 15, 2008 article in The Hill newspaper reported that Mongiardo is considering a rematch against Sen. Jim Bunning in 2010. ^[5]

On June 21, 2008, Mongiardo married Allie Patrick in a ceremony in Covington, Kentucky. ^[6]

• Kentucky gubernatorial election, 2007

• 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