ST. PAUL — Sen. Mike Parry of Waseca has officially entered the race for U.S. Congress.

Parry filed to run for Congress Tuesday morning with hopes of challenging democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Walz in southeastern Minnesota’s 1st District.

“Washington is broken and politicians like Congressman Walz are part of the problem,” Parry said in a news release. “For too long, Congressman Walz has said one thing in southern Minnesota and voted with out-of-touch liberal politicians in Washington.”

But Parry may face a GOP primary after he and former state Rep. Allen Quist battled to a draw in an endorsing convention in April. Quist has two weeks to file.

Candidates began filing to run for elected positions ranging from the Minnesota Legislature to the U.S. Congress. The filing period for the 2012 election opened Tuesday at the Secretary of State’s office and continues through June 5.

Early filers include state Rep. Joyce Peppin, a Republican from Rogers who is seeking a fifth term. Frequent candidate Dick Franson submitted his name as a primary challenger to Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

Also filing paperwork was Republican state Sen. Mike Parry of Waseca, who hopes to challenge democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Walz in southeastern Minnesota’s 1st District.

Incumbents file in county

As expected, county commissioners Tim Gabrielson, District 1, and Ray Tucker, District 2, filed for office, officially kicking off their re-election campaigns.