Lt. Governor Daniel “Dr. Dan” Mongiardo   A Lifelong Commitment to Making Healthcare Affordable and Accessible;   Creating Jobs and Economic Opportunity for All Regions of Kentucky

1. Early Years
2. Return Home to Improve Healthcare
3. Daniel Runs for State Senate; Frustrated with Healthcare
4. Mongiardo Takes On Bunning
5. Wins as Lt. Governor; Works to Bring Kentucky into New Era of Healthcare

Born in the coal fields of Eastern Kentucky, the son of Italian immigrants, Dr. Daniel Mongiardo was the first in his family to attend college. Daniel returned home to Appalachia to practice medicine, was elected State Senator, and despite being relatively unknown and an underfunded candidate, came within 23,000 votes of a stunning upset of Senator Jim Bunning in 2004. Elected Lt. Governor in 2007, Daniel is now running for the U.S. Senate to bring quality, affordable healthcare, jobs, and economic development to every part of Kentucky, including those parts of Kentucky too often left behind.

Early Years 

Called “Dr. Dan” by his younger patients, Daniel was born on July 4, 1960 in Hazard, a small Appalachian community located in the mountains of southeastern Kentucky. His grandfather was a coal miner and stonemason. His father was a small business owner and his mother was the “mother” of his neighborhood. Tragedy struck the family when Daniel’s older brother Dominic, whom he never knew, died as an infant from lack of quality healthcare. This event would become one of the driving forces behind Daniel’s pursuit of a career in medicine and desire to ensure every Kentuckian has access to quality, affordable healthcare.

Growing up in Hazard, Daniel spent his early school years taught by the nuns in the local Catholic two-room school before attending public school. His father taught him to fish and hunt, instilling in Daniel a love and appreciation of Kentucky’s great outdoors and a lifelong passion for outdoor sports.

During high school, Daniel excelled as a two-sport athlete. He was a standout player on his high school baseball and track teams. Encouraged by his father to understand the value of hard work, over several summers Daniel worked manual labor jobs – from climbing telephone poles to string cable, to working on a highway construction crew.

After Medical School, Daniel Returns Home to Provide Needed Medical Care

Helped by student loans, Daniel attended Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky and attended medical school at the University of Kentucky. During his residency at McGill Medical School in Montreal, Daniel would often fly back on weekends to Eastern Kentucky to work in local emergency rooms because they were so short-handed. It was in 1988 while Daniel was completing his medical residency that his mother died after a long battle with cancer. 

Turning down offers from major hospitals throughout the country, Daniel returned home to the mountains of Eastern Kentucky determined to improve the quality of healthcare. Daniel opened an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) surgical practice at Hazard Appalachian Regional Medical Center.  By day, Daniel built a thriving practice, and at night he worked as an emergency room doctor in local hospitals. Concerned that hard-working people who could not afford health insurance and did not qualify for Medicaid were falling between the cracks and not getting the medical care they needed, Daniel helped establish the Rotary Free Clinic in Hazard, where he and other doctors volunteered their time treating hundreds of patients who might otherwise be denied healthcare. 

At Hazard Appalachian Regional Medical Center, Daniel was appointed Chief of Surgery and Chief of Staff. Under his leadership and with the help of other doctors, nurses, and hospital administrators, Appalachian Regional Medical Center has grown from a staff of twenty-five doctors to more than one hundred. It is one of the region’s largest employers and provides much needed quality medical care to the people of Eastern Kentucky.

Frustrated That Too Many Kentuckians Could Not Get Affordable Medical Care,
Daniel Mongiardo Runs for State Senate

In 2000, Daniel’s growing frustration with state government’s failure to address the lack of quality affordable medical care led him to challenge his district’s incumbent Democratic State Senator. Pundits and “experts” didn’t give Daniel a chance to beat the well-financed incumbent. But what Daniel lacked in political experience, he more than made up for in hard work, new ideas, and an ability to connect with Kentucky voters. Daniel stunned Democratic Party leaders when he came from behind and won the campaign going away.

Daniel wasted no time in getting started. In 2001, Daniel was appointed to the Senate Health & Welfare Committee and co-chair of the Joint House & Senate Medicaid Oversight Task Force. He took the Oversight Task Force on a fact finding tour across Kentucky, meeting with hospital administrators, doctors, nurses and patients to discuss ways to bring down the cost and improve the quality of healthcare. 

Fearing Daniel’s outspoken criticism of the status quo, the Senate Republican President stripped Daniel of his leadership role on the Medicaid Oversight Task Force. This only led Daniel to work harder.

He used his position as an independent voice for change introducing a prescription drug plan for seniors -- without raising taxes. He sponsored a bill to improve healthcare and reduce healthcare costs by modernizing the healthcare delivery system using information technology. By bringing healthcare into the digital age, Daniel has long believed we can save billions of dollars, significantly improve quality of care and expand access for every American. Federal health experts and businesses praised Daniel’s “Next Generation” healthcare delivery system as a bold and innovative proposal that can be a national model to transform America’s healthcare delivery system.

Daniel also worked with county and community leaders to prevent an attempt by Senate Republicans to stop Kentucky’s eastern and western coal counties from receiving their coal severance money -- money needed to match federal grants and build badly needed water lines and highway safety improvements.

Daniel became the Senate Republicans’ number one target in the 2002 general election, redistricting him and moving his senate seat almost 200 miles, forcing Daniel to run in a district with a significantly greater Republican vote. Despite everything Republicans could throw at him, Daniel shocked the Republican establishment by winning with a margin of over 2:1.

Despite Being Little-Known and Underfunded, Daniel Takes On Jim Bunning; Runs Aggressive Grassroots Campaign and Comes Within 1.4% of a Stunning Upset

After losing the Governor’s race in 2003 for the first time since 1967, Kentucky Democrats were at their lowest point. Established Democrats refused to challenge Republican Senator Jim Bunning in 2004, fearing defeat would damage their political futures. Though he was virtually unknown outside of his home district, Daniel believed that Kentucky families deserved a Senator who stood up for them and decided to take on Bunning.

With little initial support from many traditional Democratic leaders and donors who thought Bunning was unbeatable, Daniel ran an aggressive grassroots campaign, set a record for small dollar donations, and worked tirelessly making the case that Kentuckians deserved a Senator who would fight for them every day. Daniel’s work ethic and personal connection with voters earned him the respect and support of grassroots activists across the Commonwealth and throughout the nation.  

On Election Night, President Bush overwhelmingly won Kentucky with 60% of the vote. Yet, despite Bush’s lopsided win and being outspent 3:1, Daniel came within 23,000 votes of beating Bunning, falling just 1.4% short of pulling off a stunning upset. Daniel garnered more than 850,000 votes, the largest number of ballots cast for any Democratic candidate in Kentucky’s history.

After the 2004 campaign, Daniel returned to the Kentucky State Senate where he continued working to improve healthcare. In 2005, Daniel wrote and passed legislation establishing a framework and laying a foundation by which innovative changes in Kentucky’s healthcare system could become a model for the nation to reduce cost and improve quality. 

Daniel Wins Election as Lt. Governor
Focuses on Improving Healthcare and Bringing Jobs to Kentucky

In December 2006, former Lt. Governor and Attorney General Steve Beshear and Daniel Mongiardo agreed to run together as Governor and Lt. Governor respectively. Early polling showed the Beshear/Mongiardo ticket as a clear underdog in the Democratic primary, but Beshear/Mongiardo won going away, avoiding a costly and divisive run-off. In the general election, Beshear/Mongiardo defeated the incumbent Republican Governor and his Lt. Gubernatorial running mate by nearly 20 points.

As Lt. Governor, Daniel has partnered with Governor Beshear to expand access to healthcare for Kentucky’s children, and together they have made significant progress in transforming Kentucky’s healthcare system into a model for the nation by making healthcare records electronic -- opening the way for millions in new investment and thousands of high-paying jobs.

As Lt. Governor, Daniel has also worked to bring jobs to every region of Kentucky. One of the state’s strongest advocates for Kentucky coal, Daniel supports clean coal technology to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, while creating much needed jobs here at home. An avid outdoorsman, Daniel has been a leader in working to establish Kentucky as an Adventure Tourism destination, bringing economic opportunity to parts of Kentucky too often left behind.

Daniel was married in June 2008 to the former Allison Patrick of Frankfort. Daniel, Allison and their two dogs, Gunner and Maggie Mae, split their time between Central Kentucky and Hazard, where Daniel continues to treat patients two days a week.

On December 22, Allison gave birth to Kathryn Allison, her and Daniel's first child.