22 Facts About Daniel Mongiardo

Daniel Mongiardo was a member of the Kentucky State Senate from 2001 to 2007.

Daniel Mongiardo ran for the US Senate in 2004, narrowly losing in the general election to Jim Bunning and again in 2010, losing in the primary election to Jack Conway.

Daniel Mongiardo attended Transylvania University and received his medical degree at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in 1986.

From 1986 to 2000, Daniel Mongiardo worked as an ear, nose and throat surgeon, performing his residency in Lexington.

Daniel Mongiardo helped open a free health clinic and became chief of staff at the Hazard Appalachian Hospital.

Daniel Mongiardo entered politics in 2000 and was elected to the state senate, after defeating incumbent Glenn Freeman in an expensive and bitter Democratic primary with 49.1 percent of the vote and then winning the general election with 70 percent of the vote.

Daniel Mongiardo was reelected to a redrawn district in 2002 that covers Bell, Harlan, Leslie and Perry counties with 65.6 percent of the vote.

Daniel Mongiardo continued his private practice and married Allison Patrick in Covington, Kentucky in 2008.

Daniel Mongiardo ran in the 2004 US Senate election to unseat incumbent first-term Senator Jim Bunning, a former Major League Baseball player.

Daniel Mongiardo won the primary election with 64.9 percent of the vote and made health care his top campaign priority.

Daniel Mongiardo responded with statements about his co-sponsorship of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in Kentucky and his intent to vote in favor of a Federal Marriage Amendment, and he argued that Bunning was removed from the interests of families.

Daniel Mongiardo gained support from national Democratic organizations, but lost the bitterly contested election 49.3 percent to 50.7 percent.

Daniel Mongiardo was ahead with as much as 80 percent of the returns in.

Beshear-Daniel Mongiardo were elected over incumbent Republican Governor Ernie Fletcher on November 6,2007, winning with 58.7 percent of the state vote.

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

In September 2008, Daniel Mongiardo claimed that some rural voters would not support Barack Obama because of unfamiliarity with Obama, ignorance or race.

Daniel Mongiardo had endorsed Obama, who had supported him in the 2004 US Senate election.

In January 2009, Daniel Mongiardo announced that he would be running for the US Senate seat currently held by incumbent Jim Bunning.

Daniel Mongiardo called for Bunning to withdraw from reelection, questioning his ability to represent the state because of controversial statements made about the health of US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Bunning's reportedly strained relationship with other Republican senators.

Daniel Mongiardo was narrowly defeated in the Democratic Primary by the Attorney General of Kentucky Jack Conway.

Under a bill changing the selection process of candidates for Lieutenant Governor, which was proposed to the Kentucky House of Representatives, Daniel Mongiardo could seek reelection as Lieutenant Governor even if he lost the Democratic primary to the US Senate in 2010.

On January 20,2009 Daniel Mongiardo appeared on the Tonight Show, where he lost an inaugural trivia contest to Hooters girls.