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

[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.

[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.

[28] Governor Steve Beshear, however, privately indicated his desire to assemble his 2011 reelection team prior to the conclusion of the 2010 election cycle.

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