GOP's Mills brings old fire, new look to U.S. House rematch

When Republican Stewart Mills stepped away from his family's Fleet Farm business in 2014 to run for Congress, Democrats portrayed him as a champagne-sipping, lobster-eating man of privilege who knew nothing about middle-class concerns.

They mocked his long hair in TV ads that suggested Mills was self-obsessed.

Mills, 44, is back for a rematch this year against DFL U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan. His hair is shorter now and conventionally groomed. Mills, though, sounds much like he did during his first campaign. He believes this time he'll win.

"Rick Nolan is wrong on national security. He's wrong on foreign policy, and he's wrong on the issues both economically, health care and our Second Amendment rights that we believe in in our part of Minnesota," Mills said recently during an interview at his campaign office in Baxter. "I have more reason to run this election cycle than I did last election cycle."

Mills criticized Nolan for urging President Barack Obama to allow 100,000 Syrian refugees into the United States, although Nolan later supported a Republican bill that sought to make it more difficult for refugees from Syria and Iran to enter the country. Mills also says Nolan should not have supported the Iran nuclear deal.

Nolan, 72, said he supported the Iran nuclear deal because he thinks it reduces Iran's ability to develop a nuclear weapon.

In a recent interview in Washington, Nolan said he's been effective in Congress. Even so, he predicted a tough and expensive campaign for Minnesota's 8th Congressional District seat, just like the last one Nolan nearly lost to Mills in 2014.

"Now he's got himself a haircut and he's got a fat checkbook," Nolan said of Mills. "I'd like to hope that, you know, a guy can't get a haircut and inherit a couple hundred million dollars and buy a seat in the Congress. But, you know, stranger things have happened. We'll just have to wait and see."

Nolan claims a solid record of trying to bolster the mining industry on the Iron Range. Steep, new tariffs aimed at curbing illegal steel dumping in the U.S. are working, he said. He applauded the recent announcement that Cliffs Natural Resources expects to reopen its Northshore Mining operation by May 15 and bring back more than 500 jobs. He also noted that he's helped move along the regulatory process for the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine in northeast Minnesota.

Nolan is supporting Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for president and agrees with Sanders that U.S. workers have lost out on trade deals. Like Sanders, Nolan says there's too much money in politics. Still, Nolan's trying to raise $3 million for his reelection.

The Mills and Nolan campaigns each spent about $2.1 million in 2014. Outside special interest groups spent more than $12 million. Mills spent nearly $400,000 of his own fortune. He will not say how much he plans to spend this time.

The presidential race is almost certain to bring out more Democrats than went to the polls two years ago when Nolan almost lost, said University of Minnesota Duluth political science professor Geoff Sheagley.

"It's a district that probably looks a little bit more Democratic overall in 2016 than it did in 2014, but it's also not one where Mills doesn't have a chance to legitimately challenge Nolan for his seat," Sheagley said.

Former Minnesota Republican U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman's American Action Network spent almost $750,000 trying to defeat Nolan two years ago. Coleman said his group and many others will be back at it this year.

"I certainly don't want to see Stewart Mills outspent," Coleman said. "The Democrat campaign committee spent a million dollars more than the Republican campaign committee in the last cycle."

Money aside, Mills believes he's a stronger candidate this time around.

"There is a comfort level that did not exist the last election cycle," he said.

Nolan is banking on strong DFL turnout but says he's gearing up for a tough race too.

"And I'm up for it," he said. "I will campaign harder than I've ever campaigned in my life."