You're A Mean One, Mr. Merchandising Opportunity
How judgment, optics, and self-branding collide in the HD119 Democratic primary.
If you don’t live in San Antonio, you may have missed some of the local news about the HD119 Democratic primary candidates. On December 20, both Liz Campos (D-HD119) and her primary opponent, Ryan Ayala, had their signs vandalized with stickers of the Grinch over their faces.
Now, behind the news reports, the Campos campaign was pointing fingers at the Ayala campaign, and the Ayala campaign was pointing fingers at the Campos campaign. Meanwhile, my sources on the ground in San Antonio have told me it might have been the actions of an inebriated unsheltered individual.
And maybe that would have been the end of it, but then someone messaged me that Campos was turning this into a merchandising opportunity. And her opponent? He’s been documenting how his signs have been repeatedly vandalized and stolen for months.
Liz Campos’ response:
Ryan Ayala’s response and previous documentation:
Now, before we start getting into conspiracy theory territory (and I think it would be fair to go there), maybe we need to talk about Liz Campos’ increasingly strange behavior. During 2025, I’ve had a couple of people reach out to me about her and some head-scratching moments.
What’s Liz Campos been up to?
The first alert I received about Liz Campos this year was back in July, when she posted this graphic to social media:
It lists the Governor’s agenda, including:
Protect children from THC (THC ban)
Protect unborn children
Protect women’s spaces
Attorney General election powers
Redistricting
And plenty of other right-wing garbage
All listed out next to a nice big picture of her smiling from ear to ear. Why?
Why would she put her smiling face on a graphic with all of those right-wing priorities and then post it to her own social media? It was bizarre.
Then, it was Thanksgiving, and someone sent me this photo:
Representative Campos participated in a turkey giveaway for people in need and decided that the most appropriate attire for handing out food to needy families was a crown.
And I thought, maybe it was a themed giveaway, like “Princesses gift turkeys” or something like that. But here was the rest of the crew she was working with that day:
She was the only one wearing a crown. Come to find out, Campos is the Rey Feo Reina Linda, an honorary position that helps raise funds for a scholarship. And with this position, she gets a crown, a sash, and rides around in the back of cars at parades.
So, handing out food to people in need was something she did as a Reina Linda, not as a House Representative, or a community member, which is why she chose to wear the crown as she handed out turkeys.
It’s still terrible optics.
All of these moments combined, not even looking at her voting record or who she’s taken money from (and I promise it’s not flattering), HD119 Democratic primary voters should be asking:
Does Liz Campos demonstrate the political judgment and seriousness required of a Democratic legislator in a high-stakes district?
Zooming out from the Grinch incident, the vandalism itself isn’t actually the story. Signs get messed with every cycle. What matters is how campaigns respond when something minor and stupid happens.
In this case, one campaign turned vandalism into a merchandising opportunity. The other documented a recurring problem and moved on. That difference matters because it tells you where the attention goes when pressure shows up.
And this isn’t an isolated moment. The merch pivot fits neatly alongside the crown moment. Different settings, same instinct. Both center the candidate instead of the people being served. Both turn situations that should be about constituents into visual branding exercises. Both prioritize spectacle over substance.
That might play fine on social media. It’s a liability in a district like HD119.
This is a seat under constant GOP pressure. It demands message discipline, coalition trust, and a clear understanding of how easily Democrats can lose ground. Every distraction gets amplified. Every misstep gets weaponized. There is no room for sloppiness, self-indulgence, or unserious optics.
The question isn’t whether any single moment was malicious. The question is whether this pattern helps or hurts Democrats down the ballot. Whether it builds trust with voters who already feel ignored. Whether it strengthens the party in a district Republicans are actively targeting.
Who is Ryan Ayala?
Ryan Ayala is running a serious grassroots campaign and has been on the ground, door-knocking and holding events for months. He doesn’t even have a website up yet, but has already garnered a ton of support in the community, including endorsements from previously serving Representatives and local Bexar County officials.
His campaign staff is largely his family (which I love), and they just put out a video addressing the sign situation:
This is absolutely a race we’ll have to check in on again, because I’m hearing that Ayala is making a lot of headway, and it WILL be a competitive primary.
You can find out more about Ryan Ayala on his Instagram or Facebook.
HD119 Democratic primary voters have a real choice in front of them.
Not just between two names, but between two different approaches to politics under pressure.
This race isn’t about personality quirks or internet drama. It’s about judgment. It’s about how candidates behave when something small goes wrong, because that’s usually a preview of how they’ll act when something big does. It’s about whether a campaign understands the stakes of representing a district Republicans are actively trying to flip.
Nothing here requires conspiracy theories. You don’t have to assume evil intent. You just have to look at patterns, priorities, and responses.
Democratic voters deserve candidates who keep the focus on constituents, not themselves. Who understand optics aren’t superficial in Texas politics, they’re strategic. Who recognize that discipline, clarity, and coalition trust are not optional in a high-stakes district.
And that’s the question HD119 voters should be asking as this primary moves forward.
February 2, 2026: Last Day to Register to Vote
February 17, 2026: First Day to Early Vote
March 3, 2026: Primary Election
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Maybe its time for some well-placed video equipment. Back in the 2016 election in Austin, someone's Hillary sign kept getting torn down. It became a neighborhood kerfluffle with accusations against the people with a Trump sign. Then, someone set up a camera. The culprit? A young spike buck trying out his antlers on the Hillary sign which was plastic or some such. Apparently, he liked the racket it made and he came by every evening to beat the crap out of it.
Interesting San Antonio race and one to watch. Let's not forget about Taylor Rehmet up here in North Texas running in a special election for SD-9 (Texas Senate). Speaking of bad judgment, his Republican opponent is a doozey.
Campos strikes me as a type of politician who sees elective office as an opportunity to show out instead of being a servant of their constituents. That's a maga trademark (cough, cough, marjorie trailer queen, cough, cough, lauren blowbert) and it's always a bad sign. We don't need any Democrats like this either.