Val Kilmer ponders running for N.M. governor

SANTA FE, N.M. — Holy hornet's nest, Batman! The New Mexico governor's mansion?

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Fresh from the inauguration, actor Val Kilmer is pondering running for governor in 2010, when Democrat Bill Richardson's second term ends.

"I'm just looking for ways to be contributive," Kilmer told The Associated Press on Thursday. "And if that ends up being where I can make a substantial contribution, then I'll run."

But there's no decision yet.

"It's really day to day," he said over tea at a local restaurant.

Kilmer, 49, grew up in Los Angeles but has called New Mexico home for more than two decades. He's currently registered as a Democrat and said he cast a ballot for Barack Obama from Bulgaria, where he was filming.

A Kilmer candidacy could throw a monkey wrench into the well-oiled Democratic machine of Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, who's already running for the job.

Kilmer's screen credits include Batman in "Batman Forever" in 1995, brash fighter pilot Lt. Tom "Iceman" Kazansky in the 1986 hit "Top Gun," and rock icon Jim Morrison in the 1991 Oliver Stone film, "The Doors."

Kilmer said if he ran it wouldn't have to be a conventional campaign. While the actor decides, he's getting out and about and has been listening to people — something he says he's pretty good at.

"What I do for a living is listen," he said, making a bold prediction: "If I run, I'm going to be the next governor."

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