Daniel Mongiardo | |
---|---|
54th Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky | |
In office December 11, 2007 –December 13, 2011 | |
Governor | Steve Beshear |
Preceded by | Steve Pence |
Succeeded by | Jerry Abramson |
Member of the Kentucky Senate | |
In office January 1,2001 –December 11,2007 | |
Preceded by | Glenn Freeman |
Succeeded by | Brandon Smith |
Constituency | 17th district (2001–2003) 30th district (2003–2007) |
Personal details | |
Born | Hazard,Kentucky,U.S. | July 4,1960
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Allison Patrick |
Alma mater | Transylvania University (BS) University of Kentucky (MD) |
Frank Daniel Mongiardo [1] (born July 4,1960) is an American physician and politician from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Mongiardo is a Democrat and was the 54th lieutenant governor of Kentucky from 2007 until 2011. He was a member of the Kentucky State Senate from 2001 to 2007. He also ran for the U.S. Senate in 2004,narrowly losing in the general election to Jim Bunning and again in 2010,losing in the primary election to Jack Conway.
Mongiardo was born to Italian immigrants in Hazard,Kentucky. [2] His father,Jimmy,owned a whiskey store and coin laundry,for many years,before retiring,and his mother,Katherine,died in 1988 of colon cancer. [3] Mongiardo attended Transylvania University and received his medical degree at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in 1986. [1] From 1986 to 2000,Mongiardo worked as an ear,nose,and throat surgeon,performing his residency in Lexington. [3] [4] Mongiardo helped open a free health clinic and became chief of staff at the Hazard Appalachian Hospital. [3] He 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. [3] [5] [6] [7]
Mongiardo was reelected to a redrawn district in 2002 that covers Bell,Harlan,Leslie,and Perry counties with 65.6 percent of the vote. [4] [8] [9] In this campaign,Mongiardo,argued his opponent,Johnnie L. Turner,had used images of Mohamed Atta in a television advertisement to compare Atta to him. [10] In the Kentucky Senate,Mongiardo worked to bring water projects to his district,pressed for legislation to establish an electronic medical network,and voted against a constitutional amendment that would allow the legislature to limit the payment of punitive damages in medical malpractice cases. [3] Mongiardo continued his private practice and married Allison Patrick in Covington,Kentucky in 2008. [11] [12] Their first child,Kathryn,was born on December 22,2009, [13] their second child,Cannon,was born on September 28,2011,and third child,Barron,was born August 30,2014.
Mongiardo ran in the 2004 U.S. Senate election to unseat incumbent first-term Senator Jim Bunning, a former Major League Baseball player. He won the primary election with 64.9 percent of the vote and made health care his top campaign priority. [4] [14] Although early polls showed Mongiardo at a significant disadvantage against Bunning, who had more name recognition and campaign funds, [15] Mongiardo was able to make large gains, on account of several missteps committed by Bunning and other Kentucky Republicans, [4] including Bunning's admission not to have read newspapers articles on the Iraq war and claims made against Mongiardo regarding his staff's violence against Bunning's wife, [4] his sexual preference, [16] and his physical likeness to Saddam Hussein's sons, for the last of which Bunning later apologized. [4] 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. [15] [16] Mongiardo gained support from national Democratic organizations, but he lost the bitterly contested election, 49.3 percent to 50.7 percent. [15] [17] Mongiardo was ahead with as much as 80 percent of the returns in. However, the western portion of the state broke strongly for Bunning, providing the ultimate margin of victory.
Former Kentucky Lieutenant Governor Steve Beshear chose Mongiardo as his running mate for the 2007 gubernatorial election in Kentucky. They won the Democratic primary election on May 22, 2007, with 41 percent of the vote against several tickets, including Bruce Lunsford and Greg Stumbo, and Steve Henry and Renee True, [18] and with enough votes to avoid a June runoff. [19] Beshear-Mongiardo were elected over incumbent Republican Governor Ernie Fletcher on November 6, 2007, winning with 58.7 percent of the state vote. [20] Mongiardo did not risk losing his seat in the state senate, because Kentucky holds its constitutional officer elections in odd years.
In September 2008, Mongiardo claimed that some rural voters would not support Barack Obama, because of unfamiliarity with Obama, ignorance, or race. [21] Mongiardo had endorsed Obama, who had supported him in the 2004 U.S. Senate election. [22] Republican Kentucky State Senate President David L. Williams demanded Mongiardo apologize. [23] Mongiardo argued that if Williams suggested racism was not an issue, he was "out of touch." [23]
In January 2009, Mongiardo announced that he would be running for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by incumbent Jim Bunning. [24] Mongiardo called for Bunning to withdraw from reelection, questioning his ability to represent the state, because of controversial statements made about the health of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Bunning's reportedly strained relationship with other Republican senators. [25] Bunning later announced that he would not run in 2010. [26] Mongiardo was narrowly defeated in the Democratic Primary by the Attorney General of Kentucky Jack Conway. [27]
Under a bill changing the selection process of candidates for Lieutenant Governor, which was proposed to the Kentucky House of Representatives, Mongiardo could seek reelection as Lieutenant Governor, even if he lost the Democratic primary to the U.S. Senate in 2010. [28] Governor Steve Beshear, however, privately indicated his desire to assemble his 2011 reelection team prior to the conclusion of the 2010 election cycle. [29] On July 19, 2009, Beshear named Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson as his running mate in for reelection in 2011. [30]
On January 20, 2009, Mongiardo appeared on the Tonight Show, where he lost an inaugural trivia contest to Hooters girls. [31]
James Paul David Bunning was an American professional baseball pitcher and politician from Kentucky who served in both chambers of the United States Congress, a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 1999 and a member of the United States Senate from 1999 to 2011. He is the sole Major League Baseball athlete to have been elected to both the United States Senate and the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
The 2004 United States Senate elections were held on November 2, 2004, with all Class 3 Senate seats being contested. They coincided with the re-election of George W. Bush as president and the United States House elections, as well as many state and local elections. Senators who were elected in 1998, known as Senate Class 3, were seeking re-election or retiring in 2004.
Anne Meagher Northup is an American Republican politician and educator from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. From 1997 to 2007, she represented the Louisville-centered 3rd congressional district of Kentucky in the United States House of Representatives, where she served on the powerful House Appropriations Committee. She lost reelection to Democrat John Yarmuth in the 2006 election. She then ran for Governor of Kentucky, losing by 15 points to embattled governor Ernie Fletcher in the Republican primary election for the 2007 Kentucky gubernatorial election. Prior to her election to the United States House of Representatives, Northup had served in the Kentucky House of Representatives. Northup ran again for her old congressional seat in the 2008 election, losing again to Yarmuth.
Jerry Edwin Abramson is an American Democratic politician who was the 55th lieutenant governor of Kentucky. On November 6, 2014, Governor Steve Beshear announced that Abramson would step down from his position as lieutenant governor to accept the job of Director of Intergovernmental Affairs in the Obama White House. He was replaced by former State Auditor Crit Luallen.
United States gubernatorial elections were held in October and November 2007 in three states. The final results were a net change of zero among the parties. Republicans picked up the open seat in Louisiana and reelected incumbent Haley Barbour in Mississippi, while Democrats defeated Republican incumbent Ernie Fletcher in Kentucky.
John William Conway is an American lawyer and politician from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. A member of the Democratic Party, Conway served as the 49th attorney general of Kentucky from January 7, 2008, to January 4, 2016. Prior to his election as attorney general, he was the nominee for Kentucky's 3rd congressional district in the 2002 elections, narrowly losing to Republican incumbent Anne Northup.
Eugene P. Stuart (1927–2002) was a Republican and a longtime member of the Kentucky General Assembly. He was the Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky on a ticket headed by Jim Bunning in 1983.
The 2007 Kentucky elections for the statewide offices of governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, auditor of public accounts, commissioner of agriculture, secretary of state, and state treasurer were held on November 6, 2007. All incumbents were reelected with the exception of incumbent governor Ernie Fletcher, who was defeated in his reelection bid for governor by former Lieutenant Governor Steve Beshear. In addition, Democrats held the open Attorney General and State Treasurer posts.
The 2004 United States Senate election in Kentucky took place on November 2, 2004, alongside other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Jim Bunning narrowly won re-election to a second term over Democratic State Senator Daniel Mongiardo. This election was the first time since 1962 that an incumbent Republican senator won re-election to this seat.
As established and defined by the Kentucky Constitution, the government of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is composed of three branches: the Executive, Judicial, and Legislative.
The following table indicates the party of elected officials in the U.S. state of Kentucky:
The 2010 United States Senate election in Kentucky took place on November 2, 2010, alongside other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Primaries for each respective party were held on May 18, 2010. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Jim Bunning decided to retire instead of seeking a third term. Republican nominee Rand Paul, an ophthalmologist and son of Congressman Ron Paul, won the open seat against Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway.
Steven Lynn Beshear is an American attorney and politician who served as the 61st governor of Kentucky from 2007 to 2015. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1974 to 1980, was the state's 44th attorney general from 1980 to 1983 and was the 49th lieutenant governor from 1983 to 1987.
The 2011 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2011, to elect the governor of Kentucky and the lieutenant governor of Kentucky. Incumbent Democrat Steve Beshear won re-election, defeating Republican challenger David L. Williams, then the president of the state senate, and Gatewood Galbraith, an independent candidate. Statewide turnout in this election was 28%.
United States gubernatorial elections were held in four states in October and November 2011, with regularly scheduled elections in Kentucky, Mississippi, and Louisiana; and a special election in West Virginia. None of these four governorships changed party hands, with Democratic incumbents Steve Beshear and Earl Ray Tomblin winning in Kentucky and West Virginia, respectively; and Republicans re-electing Bobby Jindal in Louisiana and holding the open seat in Mississippi.
The 2010 mayoral election in Louisville Metro took place on November 2, 2010, alongside other federal, state and local elections.
The 2011 Kentucky Secretary of State election was held on November 8, 2011, to elect the Secretary of State of Kentucky. Primaries for this election were held on Tuesday, May 17, 2011. In the general election, Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes defeated Republican Bill Johnson.
Bertram Robert Stivers II, is a Republican member of the Kentucky Senate representing the 25th Senate District since 1997. He served as the Republican Majority Leader of the Kentucky State Senate through 2012 and became the President of the Kentucky Senate on the opening day of the 2013 legislative session on January 8.
The 2019 Kentucky gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2019, to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of Kentucky. The Democratic nominee, Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear, defeated Republican incumbent Matt Bevin by just over 5,000 votes, or 0.37%, making this the closest gubernatorial election in Kentucky since 1899 by total votes, and the closest since 1915 by percentage. It was also the closest race of the 2019 gubernatorial election cycle.
The 2023 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2023, to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of Kentucky. Incumbent Democratic Governor Andy Beshear won re-election to a second term, defeating Republican state Attorney General Daniel Cameron. Had Cameron won, he would have become Kentucky's first African-American governor.