Former Eighth District Congressional candidate Stewart Mills III is sporting a new short haircut after his long locks were singed at a barbecue on the Fourth of July. A picture on Mills' Twitter account showed the short cut.
Mills tweeted, "Lost some hair, & a lot of pride, in a July 4 grilling 'incident.' Might be time for a new look. #StillHaveEyebrows."
In another tweet he says, "The new look after my July 4th Bar-B-Q singeing. The haircut fixed a lot; luckily my eyelashes aren't as noticeable."
In a phone interview, the Republican from the Brainerd area said he tried to light his father's gas grill "once, twice and three times...[and] when it went, it went."
Mills said he's not the first chef to get a hot blast while igniting a gas grill, but added, "I suppose having these long locks singed was more noticeable."
Mills' shoulder length hair drew comparisons to heartthrob actor Brad Pitt in virtually every news profile done on him during the 2014 election, but the hair was often mocked in attack ads during his race against Democratic Rep. Rick Nolan. Nolan won the close race.
The former candidate said he is keeping his options open for another run against Nolan. If he does hit the campaign trail again, Mills said he plans to keep his shorter cut. He said it is all "much ado about nothing" but did admit he has gotten a lot of positive attention from the change.
"It is comfortable and easier to maintain," he said.
