Kaohsiung Mayoral Poll Sparks Heated Debate! Lai Jui-long Leads by 12.6 Points, Advocating Progress; Ko Chih-en Questions Sample Bias and Slams Toxic Oil Scandal

The Kaohsiung mayoral election race has intensified. Today (20th), the Era Polling Center released its latest survey, showing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Lai Jui-long leading Kuomintang (KMT) candidate Ko Chih-en by 12.6 percentage points, with 36.2% support compared to Ko's 23.6%. However, 32.8% of voters remain undecided, and 7.4% say they will not vote or cast invalid ballots, indicating the race remains fluid. Following the poll's release, both blue and green camps engaged in heated exchanges, challenging poll credibility and criticizing central government performance, escalating the electoral battle.

On the question of 'who is more likely to win,' 40.4% of respondents favored Lai Jui-long, while 16.2% backed Ko Chih-en; 43.4% said they didn't know or refused to answer. Additionally, Mayor Chen Chi-mai's job approval rating reached 81%, with only 10.6% expressing dissatisfaction. Notably, even among KMT supporters, 61.7% expressed satisfaction, and 59% of Taiwan People's Party (TPP) supporters did so, with 27.4% of TPP supporters stating they were 'very satisfied.'

Reacting to the poll, Lai Jui-long stated the data aligns with his team's internal analysis and expressed gratitude for public support. He emphasized that Kaohsiung's future development must not stall, urging the opposition to swiftly pass the central government budget, amend the unfair Fiscal Revenues and Expenditures Allocation Act, and support strategic industries like drones and unmanned vessels to advance industrial transformation and international positioning. Lai stressed that the year-end election is crucial for sustaining recent construction achievements and urban competitiveness, vowing to protect Kaohsiung's pride and boost its international confidence.

Ko Chih-en, however, rejected the poll's validity. She acknowledged all polls but criticized the sample structure as clearly imbalanced, noting that combined KMT and TPP supporter samples were less than half of DPP supporters. 'Under such biased sampling, any result is unsurprising,' she said, questioning the poll's representativeness.

Ko redirected her criticism toward the central government's recent food safety controversies, particularly the toxic oil scandal, asserting that the public cares more about food safety than election numbers. She condemned Premier Cho Jung-tai for initially refusing to apologize, spokesperson Wu Cheng for inappropriate remarks, and Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an for slapping a reporter's microphone, accusing the ruling party of crisis mismanagement. 'What score would the people give this government? This is the real issue the ruling party should reflect on,' she stated.

As polls continue to emerge, Lai focuses on continuing Kaohsiung's development and industrial upgrading, while Ko hones in on central government failures and the food safety crisis. The candidates are now fully engaged in a head-to-head battle over poll numbers, sample composition, and governance performance, signaling that the Kaohsiung mayoral race has entered a fiercely competitive phase.