Earlier this month, I wrote about a potential congressional candidate in Minnesota with shoulder-length hair and a “Brad Pitt kind of appeal.”

That post did not go unnoticed.

As buzz grew about Republican Stewart Mills’ potential candidacy in the 8th District, Democratic Rep. Rick Nolan’s campaign started to come to life, according to local sources. First, the Nolan campaign referred to the Rothenblog story in a campaign plea.

“My challenger’s looks have been compared to Brad Pitt by a Politco [sic] reporter, but the truth is, he has some very extreme Tea Party views which are closely aligned with Michele Bachmann,” Nolan wrote in an emailed invitation to a Capitol Hill fundraiser, which was scheduled for Tuesday.

Nolan obviously meant CQ Roll Call, as  a quick search of Politico revealed that the publication hasn’t written about Mills at all.

The Nolan campaign also sent out invitations for a July 2 fundraiser at the Holiday Inn Express in Mountain Iron with former Rep. James Oberstar. One Democratic source pointed out the cost of the event ($100 for friends and $250 for supporters) is high for a typical event in the Iron Range. Nolan had a modest $199,000 on hand on his March 31 on FEC report.

In addition, Nolan’s district director has also been notably more visible in the last couple of weeks around the area, according to local sources.

This week, Mills’ potential challenge became real as the 41 year-old vice president of Mills Fleet Farm stores announced his candidacy.

Mills will seek to unseat Nolan https://t.co/139hw5zETV #MNGOP #MNCRS #MN8 #MN08 #MNCD8

— Stewart Mills (@StewartMillsMN) June 26, 2013