For Immediate Release
January 26, 2009

KY Lt. Governor Mongiardo Announces for U.S. Senate

FRANKFORT - Lt. Governor Daniel Mongiardo announced today that he will
challenge U.S. Senator Jim Bunning in 2010. Mongiardo, a practicing
surgeon, was a two-term State Senator when he first challenged Bunning in
2004. Despite being largely unknown and significantly outspent, Mongiardo
lost by a razor-thin 1.4% vote margin, receiving more votes than any other
Democrat in Kentucky history. Mongiardo ran with Beshear as a
Gubernatorial Slate in 2007, handily defeating Republican incumbent
Governor Ernie Fletcher and his running mate Robbie Rudolph.

Mongiardo Statement:

I first ran for public office because of my passion to improve health care
for all Kentuckians. It is this ongoing passion that has led to my
decision to continue working to help solve our health care crisis by
filing the necessary papers, later this week, to run for the United States
Senate. The people of Kentucky deserve a Senator that has the vision,
energy and record to help improve our state and country. After the current
legislative session, I will launch a vigorous campaign to replace Senator
Jim Bunning.

As a practicing surgeon, State Senator and now Lt. Governor, and most
importantly, having lost a brother due to lack of adequate health care, I
have made fixing our broken health care system my life's mission. I
understand and see every day how the cost of health care is burdening
families and damaging the ability of businesses to compete, to grow, and
to create jobs. To have a strong economy we must have an equally strong
health care system that works for all Americans. That is what I will
fight for in the United States Senate.

With our nation facing enormous challenges, families and small businesses
mired in a deep economic recession, rising health care costs and declining
incomes, we have a senator who is simply not getting the job done. Jim
Bunning is absent at this critical time. He offers no ideas, no action
and no solutions. I believe today, as I did in 2004, that Jim Bunning
continues to fail the people of our Commonwealth. Kentucky's families
deserve better.

Working together over these past 14 months, Governor Beshear and I have
expanded access to health care for Kentucky's children and laid the
foundation to transform our health care system into a model for the
nation, opening the opportunity to attract millions of dollars in new
investment and to create thousands of high-paying jobs.

However, the decisions made in Washington in the coming years will have a
major impact on the effectiveness of the reform strategy we have so
carefully crafted and nurtured for Kentucky. I believe it is critical to
our success as a Commonwealth to have a Senator who understands what is at
stake for Kentucky and will fight for quality, affordable health care for
every American.

I supported President Obama in both the primary and general election in
part because we both share the same vision and commitment to reforming
health care. I am confident that I can be more productive and make a
greater contribution as a United States Senator to help improve health
care and improve the lives of all Kentuckians than I can as Lt. Governor.
During my remaining term as Lt. Governor I will continue to work with the
Governor as he continues moving Kentucky forward in the right direction.