Kentucky Democratic Lt. Governor Dan Mongiardo just made it official: he's going for a rematch against incumbent Republican Jim Bunning for the Senate in 2010.

In 2004, Bunning beat Mongiardo by just under 23,000 votes out of more than 1.7 million ballots cast at the same time George W. Bush was thumping John Kerry in the Bluegrass state by twenty points. See Mongiardo's full statement below the jump.

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.