BRAINERD, Minn. -- Stewart Mills - whose signature shoulder-length hair became an issue, of sorts, last fall during his close race for Minnesota's 8th Congressional District seat against incumbent Rick Nolan - debuted a new look this week.
A photo posted on Mills' Twitter page showed Mills with a new, short haircut - the result of his hair being singed while barbecuing on the Fourth of July, he said.
"I lost some of my hair, and a lot of pride, in a 4th of July grilling 'incident,'" Mills reported on Twitter .
Mills, a Republican who lives in the Brainerd Lakes area, narrowly lost to Nolan, a Democrat, in last November's election.
ADVERTISEMENT
Not to be outdone by the once-and-possibly-future political opponent’s new look, Nolan weighed in with his own hair-related social media post on Thursday.
“News flash: Without incident, BBQ or otherwise, Nolan gets his usual monthly haircut at McGarry’s Barber Shop in Crosslake,” read a post on Nolan’s campaign Facebook page , accompanied by a photo of the 8th District congressman in a barber’s chair.
Nolan said last month that he will run again in 2016; Mills said he is considering another run.
During the 2014 race, Politico ran a story claiming that Mills had been "anointed the Brad Pitt of the Republican Party" thanks in part to his "jaw-length blond locks."
Democrats aired attack ads featuring video footage of Mills - an heir to the successful Mills Fleet Farm chain - smoothing his long hair behind his ears as a narrator stated, "It costs a lot to get this look. Lucky for Stewart Mills III, he inherited millions and a job with a six-figure salary."
Of his new look, Mills wrote on Twitter that "the haircut fixed a lot" of the effects of the barbecue incident. "Luckily my eyelashes aren't as noticeable."
