WASHINGTON — From Real Capitol View:

A source familiar with the thinking of Brainerd-area resident Stewart Mills confirmed that the Mills Fleet Farm executive has been exploring the possibility of running against Congressman Rick Nolan in 2014.

With an official announcement about his entrance into the race slated to take place in July, Mills has been privately speaking to CD8 leaders and activists about a run, and also is working on finding a replacement to cover the day-to-day operations that he has been overseeing at Fleet Farm, Real Capitol View has learned

Mills, obviously, has a lot of name recognition as CEO of Mills Fleet Farm, and he began to get political earlier this year when he released an “open letter” web video to Nolan and Minnesota’s senators opposing new gun control measures Congress was considering at the time. The video has more than 270,000 views on YouTube.

Nolan beat Republican Rep. Chip Cravaack by nine points in 2012.

Devin Henry can be reached at dhenry@minnpost.com.