MSU alum, award-winning actor John Goodman voices campaign ad for Lucas Kunce

A notable Missouri State University alumnus lent his voice to Senate candidate Lucas Kunce's most recent ad campaign.

Actor John Goodman narrated the ad "Family values, or something else," where Goodman tells voters they can vote for family values with Kunce or "something else" with Sen. Josh Hawley. The ad also highlights Goodman and Kunce's shared background, something the Democratic candidate has emphasized throughout the campaign.

"Lucas and I both learned family values is really about people taking care of each other and doing the right thing through good times and tough times," Goodman said in the video.

The video takes aim at Sen. Josh Hawley's voting record, including voting against in vitro fertilization, against raising the minimum wage in 2021 and stalling a bill expanding health care for veterans exposed to burn pits .

"Family values didn't mean cruelty. It didn't mean fake patriotism. It didn't mean telling people how to live or family profits," Goodman said in the ad. "It didn't mean leaving folks behind or making life harder for hardworking people and it sure as hell didn't mean robbing people. None of that is family values. That's something else."

Hawley's campaign spokesperson, Abigail Jackson, questioned how Kunce defines "family values" and brought up previous talking points raised by Hawley in his Ozark rally last week .

“Kunce’s idea of ‘family values’ is letting men into girl’s bathrooms, crushing girl’s sports, and destroying family farms by banning gas and diesel," Jackson said. "Kunce is good for Hollywood liberals and bad for Missourians. It’s nuts, but it’s Kunce.”

Kunce supports transgender rights. He also has advocated "restoring working people to power" by eliminating foreign agriculture monopolies . Kunce does advocate for the decarbonization of the U.S. energy grid, which would eliminate the use of fossil fuel, to address climate change and decrease reliance on foreign trade for energy .

Goodman is not the first celebrity to speak in support of Kunce. Jon Hamm, a St. Louis native, did a voiceover for a Kunce commercial in 2023.

More: 'We're taking America back': Sen. Josh Hawley kicks off reelection campaign in Ozark

Who is John Goodman?

John Goodman is an award-winning actor who was born in Afton and attended what was then Southwest Missouri State University in the 1970s. He came to the university to play football, but ended up falling in love with acting there, according to an MSU bio written during the school's Onward and Upward Campaign.

"I was so fortunate to find that passion at Missouri State, where there were great, caring people to teach me," Goodman said. "They opened doors for me. They guided me to use my eyes and ears. I learned to observe life honestly so I could apply it to my craft and, later, my life."

From 2023: John Goodman to appear in video, not in person, at Missouri State graduation Dec. 15

Goodman is best known for his role in the TV show "Roseanne," for which he won a Golden Globe award in 1993. He has also starred in numerous Coen Brother movies, including "The Big Lebowski" and voiced James P. "Sulley" Sullivan in the 2001 Pixar movie "Monsters Inc."

Goodman chaired the university's largest and most recent fundraising campaign and is a longtime supporter of arts and theater. An amphitheater, and the permanent home for Tent Theatre , is named in his honor.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: MSU alum, award-winning actor John Goodman voices campaign ad for Lucas Kunce