Another report says Kilmer may run for guv in 2010

There’s a new report that actor Val Kilmer may run for governor of New Mexico in 2010.

Talk of a potential Kilmer run is nothing new. World Entertainment News Network reported in January that Kilmer might try to follow Ronald Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger and other Hollywood stars into politics by seeking to replace Bill Richardson as the state’s leader in a couple of years.

But the Thursday report in The Politico suggests that, after initially floating the idea and seeing the reaction, Kilmer is still serious about the possibility. The January report stated that Kilmer “claims he already has the backing to run for governor… and could do a far better job than other stars who have crossed the divide.”

“I did get some lobbyists once saying that I’d make a good governor,” the media outlet quoted Kilmer as saying. “Reagan wasn’t much of an actor and look how that worked out for him. And then there’s Arnold… I think you should be able to pronounce the name of the state.”

Kilmer, who has stared in movies including Top Gun and Batman Forever, lives on a large ranch near Pecos.

A 2003 Rolling Stone article stirred controversy in New Mexico when it quoted Kilmer as saying he lives “in the homicidal capital of the Southwest” and that “80 percent of the people in my county (San Miguel) are drunk.” Kilmer said he was misquoted and some comments were taken out of context, according to The Associated Press. He later dined with Richardson at the governor’s mansion to try to smooth things over with angry New Mexicans. At the time, Richardson called him “a great New Mexican.”

Kilmer was scheduled to appear last month with independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader at an open-debate rally in Denver timed to coincide with the Democrats’ convention, but he ended up skipping the event.