Michael J. Parry (born January 5, 1953) is a Minnesota politician and former member of the Minnesota Senate representing District 26, which included portions of Dodge, Freeborn, Goodhue, Mower, Olmsted, Rice, Steele, and Waseca counties in the southeastern part of the state.
[1] Parry served in the Minnesota Army National Guard, receiving an honorable discharge as a staff sergeant, and attended Brown Institute of Broadcasting in Minneapolis.
He was vice president of Custom Publishing of Fort Dodge, Iowa, and also co-owned a motocross company.
A Republican, he won a special election on January 26, 2010, succeeding Senator Dick Day, who resigned on January 8, 2010, to head Racino Now, an organization dedicating to lobbying for slots at the state's two horse-racing tracks.
He chaired the Senate State Government Innovation and Veterans Committee, and was a member of the Senate's Finance and Transportation committees[7] In October 2011, Parry announced he would run in against incumbent Democratic U.S. Representative Tim Walz in Minnesota's 1st congressional district.