Who is running for District Judge, 297th Judicial District in 2026?

Judge, 297th District Court (Tarrant County), appointed

Amy Allin is the judge of the 297th District Court in Tarrant County, a felony criminal court, appointed by Governor Greg Abbott in February 2025¹². Before that she was an assistant criminal district attorney in the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney's Office¹. She is the Republican nominee against Democrat Fred Howey³⁴.

• Judge, 297th District Court (Tarrant County), felony criminal court, since her 2025 appointment¹²⁴
• Assistant criminal district attorney, Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney's Office¹
• Member of the State Bar of Texas, Tarrant County Bar Association, Texas District and County Attorneys Association and National District Attorneys Association¹
• BS in Advertising, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; JD, Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law¹
• Appointed by Governor Greg Abbott on February 25, 2025, for a term set to expire December 31, 2026, subject to Senate confirmation¹. She is on the November 3, 2026 ballot as the Republican nominee³. Name note: the county's August 6, 2026 elected-officials list gives the 297th judge as "Amy Gastorf"⁸, while the Governor's appointment release, the county's felony courts page and the ballot say "Amy Allin"¹²³. The Texas Senate's Committee on Nominations report on the appointment to the 297th Judicial District Court names the appointee "Amy Allin Gastorf"⁹. These are the same judge, listed under different forms of one name.
• Bar poll: Tarrant County Bar Association 2026 Judicial Candidate Poll (Jan 6 to Jan 29, 2026; 441 of 2,026 eligible attorney members voted, 21.8%). This is a non-binding poll of lawyers, not an endorsement by the Association. Results for Amy Allin: Strongly Recommend 28.5% (53), Recommend 14.0% (26), Neutral 8.1% (15), Not Recommend 6.5% (12), Strongly Not Recommend 7.5% (14), Skipped 35.5% (66) (percent of the voters who chose that race category, with vote counts). The poll was taken before the March 3 primary⁵⁶.

Criminal defense attorney, Dunham & Jones Law Firm, P.C. (Fort Worth)

Fred Howey is a criminal defense attorney at Dunham & Jones Law Firm, P.C. in Fort Worth and an Army Reserves veteran¹². He is the Democratic nominee for judge of the 297th District Court, a felony criminal court in Tarrant County, against incumbent Amy Allin¹³.

• Criminal defense attorney, Dunham & Jones Law Firm, P.C., Fort Worth; his firm profile says he has tried more than 40 jury trials²
• Solo practice in Bedford and Hurst, 2010 to 2020, focused on criminal defense and family law (per his firm profile)²
• JD, Texas Wesleyan University School of Law, 2010; licensed in Texas that year (per his firm profile)²
• U.S. Army Reserves, 1996 to 2009, deployed to Iraq 2005 to 2006, left as a First Lieutenant; past president of the North East Tarrant County Bar Association, 2015 to 2016 (per his firm profile)²
• Not a sitting judge. He is the Democratic nominee on the November 3, 2026 ballot for the 297th Judicial District, challenging incumbent Amy Allin¹³.
• Bar poll: Tarrant County Bar Association 2026 Judicial Candidate Poll (Jan 6 to Jan 29, 2026; 441 of 2,026 eligible attorney members voted, 21.8%). This is a non-binding poll of lawyers, not an endorsement by the Association. Results for Fred Howey: Strongly Recommend 8.1% (15), Recommend 8.1% (15), Neutral 10.8% (20), Not Recommend 9.1% (17), Strongly Not Recommend 14.0% (26), Skipped 50.0% (93) (percent of the voters who chose that race category, with vote counts). The poll was taken before the March 3 primary⁴⁵.