In the running for 223rd District Judge is Franklin McDonough, who has been serving as the District Attorney for Pampa and the surrounding area for over 13 years.
Born and raised in Plainview, Franklin would grow up in a law enforcement family with nearly all of his family members serving as peace officers, so it only seemed natural that he too would serve in a similar field.
“My mother was actually a police dispatcher for 28 years, and my father was a sheriff’s deputy captain. So I grew up in law enforcement and getting to see what it was for someone who had to put on a vest and go to work. Very early on when I was in high school, I decided I was going to go to law school. I was one of the few that said in law school that I was going to be one who goes into a district attorney’s office. I served on two national mock trial teams, and I also served on a national client/counsel team, and because of that, there was one place I knew I wanted to be-the courtroom. In 2005, I graduated from Texas Tech School of Law, and they said the one place that you’re going to get experience in a courtroom is to go into a district attorney’s office. So I was fortunate to come here to Pampa fresh out of law school as an Assistant DA.”
Throughout his extensive career, Franklin has tried over 100 jury trials and argued over 20 cases before the court of appeals. While many people would sit and reflect back on their victories, settling in the comfort of their career, Franklin continues to push himself further.
In October of 2024 after months of grueling research and studying, Franklin sat through what he considers the second hardest test in an attorney’s career, the first being of course the Bar Exam.
“The Board Certification Exam was the second hardest because it was the Bar Exam all over again, but it’s all over one topic that covers state and federal law. I am not a federal law practitioner, and because I’ve been a state prosecutor now for 21 years, I would be considered a state law practitioner. I had to know all federal law and criminal law to get it done. There are right now eight board certified criminal law attorneys in the Texas panhandle north of Lubbock.”
“Specifically for me as a DA, it gives me the credibility and that is if when an officer or another lawyer or judge or government official calls and requests my opinion on any matter involving criminal law, now they have the backing of he is board certified in criminal law. Sure I practice criminal law every day, but now there is that board certification that says not only do I recognize that I’m an expert in criminal law, the State Board now says I have legal expertise in criminal law. I now have that higher duty of care and higher standard.”
With years of experience in the courtroom under his belt, a drive to excel, and a heart committed to servitude, Franklin is ready to potentially embark on a new journey in his career-running for District Judge.
“My theme for this election is courage in the arena, wisdom on the bench. This is what I’ve prayed about-what is my calling? Every decision I have made, every success I have had, every failure I have had, every hard decision I’ve had to make in my life has led me to this spot. I will say I have come to a place in life to know that if it’s God’s will, it will be, and it is my duty to step into that calling.”
“I came into this job knowing that there would be a time where decisions would have to be made and I would have to be the one to do it. People would say, ‘well why would you want to do that?’ and I say because someone has to do it, and it might as well be me. I think that the reason why I’m running for judge is because if I didn’t, I would be failing myself, I would be failing my community, and I would be failing my God.”
While Franklin is confident in his decision to run for District Judge, the question on many people’s minds is who will fill in as District Attorney? It’s not so much about who will be his “replacement”, but about who will be able to fill his shoes and carry that same passion in the courtroom.
“Under the Texas Constitution, it has a resigned to run statute, which says that because I am in a public office and because my term is not up this year, then as soon as I filed in, I officially resigned as District Attorney. However, the Texas Constitution also has what is called a hold over statute. Because of the gravity of the office that I’m currently in, this office cannot be empty. Someone has to be in this seat making the decisions. I made the choice to run for judge knowing I am required to resign, however I also take this job very seriously and I know that my job and my duty is to continue to be District Attorney until the governor appoints somebody. Once he appoints somebody, I’m out and I understand that.”
“It’s not that I get to stay in this position, it’s because I have a duty to fulfill this job and I will continue to do it until the governor appoints someone. Now the who is up to the governor and there’s a lot that goes into that. There’s actually an appointment office, and Governor Abbott has a group of people in that office who go through the recommendations and the letters and they make the decision. I don’t have any say in that decision.”
“I am the only one who cannot fill this position, because constitutionally, I was elected into this position and I chose to resign to run.”
“This was a very heavy decision to make, but it was a decision that had to be made. This is something I was called to do.”
For Franklin, the transition from District Attorney to District Judge if elected wouldn’t be difficult in the slightest, but it would certainly be a change of pace and responsibility, and it’s something he’s ready for.
“Now the job becomes about listening and making a tough decision between two parties, where in this seat I am making the tough decisions on facts between what has to be done in my role as a prosecutor. It’s simply changing to making a decision in the case itself.”
“I take all the CLE classes I can take, not just to take them, but to gain all the knowledge I can. The important thing for me is not about being up-to-date in the law, but I want to understand it. I don’t want to just be able to read the law to you and have the knowledge of it, I want to take that knowledge and be able to understand it. But just because someone has the knowledge and fully understands it, they have to apply it. When I was praying about this, I wondered what my running was going to be about. It takes a lot to have that courage to step into the arena and know you’re responsible and to know that you are the decision maker, and I’ve done that. It’s one thing to have the knowledge, it’s another to understand the knowledge you have and it’s a whole other thing to be able to apply it and use wisdom, and that’s where I’m at in my life. Now I want to be able to apply that wisdom.”
“It’s been about literally building myself up mentally, spiritually, and emotionally to the point where I am confident that the wisdom is there.”
Early voting will be February 17th through February 27th at the Gray County Courthouse, 205 N. Russell in Room 104. Times are: Tuesday, February 17th through Friday, February 20th-8 AM to 5 PM
Saturday, February 21: 7 AM to 7 PM
Sunday, February 22: 12 PM to 6 PM
Monday, February 23 through Friday, February 27: 7 AM to 7 PM.
Election Day, March 3: 7 AM to 7 PM
Last day to register is February 2, 2026. Mail ballots will begin going out on January 24, 2026. Last day to request ballot by mail is February 20, 2026.
