TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The DPP’s Kaohsiung mayoral primary remains a three-way contest, with Legislator Lai Jui-lung (賴瑞隆) holding a slight edge over Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑) and Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) ahead of the party’s official polling.
A Newtalk poll showed that in hypothetical head-to-head matchups against KMT Legislator Ko Chih-en (柯志恩), Lai led with 49.5%, compared with 47.1% for Hsu and 48.3% for Chiu. Ko polled between 29.2% and 29.9% in those matchups.
Legislator Lin Tai-hua (林岱樺), whose early lead faded after she became embroiled in a corruption case, polled at 43.2% against Ko. The Newtalk survey was conducted Dec. 25–26 among 1,079 respondents, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.98 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.
Hsu released results from an internal poll commissioned by his office showing the top three candidates within 0.9 percentage points of one another, per NOWNews. He said while support for Lai and Chiu has plateaued, his own backing continues to grow and could overtake the others. The internal poll was conducted Dec. 24–25.
A separate TVBS poll suggested Lai is the only DPP contender who consistently defeats Ko. In that survey, Ko performed worst against Lai, polling at 38%, compared with 41% to 42% against Hsu, Chiu, and Lin.
In the TVBS poll, Lai, Hsu, Chiu, and Lin polled at 41%, 38%, 38% and 34%, respectively. The survey was conducted Dec. 22–29 among 998 respondents, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.
All DPP primary candidates except Lin have invoked the image of Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) in their campaigns, per ETtoday. Chiu released a campaign video implying Chen favors her as his successor, while Lai portrayed himself as Chen’s protege, and Hsu’s billboards suggested Chen passing the torch to him.
A source close to Chen said his high approval ratings have made his perceived endorsement politically valuable, but that his role overseeing the primary process prevents him from publicly backing any candidate. The source warned that excessive use of imagery implying Chen’s support could undermine party unity.
The source added that Chiu’s video used footage from different periods, while the materials released by Lai and Hsu have no direct connection to the ongoing primary.
The DPP’s Kaohsiung mayoral primary policy presentation is scheduled for Jan. 3. The party’s official polling, conducted from Jan. 12 to 17, will be taken into consideration in the selection process.
