WASHINGTON -- In a debate early Tuesday in Duluth, GOP House candidate Stewart Mills said it wasn't accurate to portray him as aligned with the Tea Party.

"I keep getting accused (of) being a Tea Partyer and I'm not sure that's entirely accurate," Mills said, when answering a question about the virtues of the Keystone oil sands pipeline in a debate with Democratic Rep. Rick Nolan and Green Party candidate Ray "Skip" Sandman.

A few hours later, the Tea Party Express threw its support behind Mills, saying he "isn't your typical politican. He is someone that understands hard work and will stop at nothing in order to fix a problem -- traits he picked up from his family's hunting-camp doctrine."

Coupled with the national endorsement, were statements of support by local liberty movement leaders, including Douglas Mickelson, a Tea Party activist in Walker, who said:

"As a hunter and gun owner I know Stewart will protect our Second Amendment rights and that excites me."

Mills' camp responded Tuesday, noting, "We welcome the endorsements of all political persuasions, from the National Rifle Association to the Farm Bureau, from the National Federation of Independent Businesses to the Fraternal Order of Police."