Kaohsiung Mayoral Poll Widens Lead! 'Lai Jui-long vs. Ko Chih-en: Who Has Higher Support?' Shocking Survey Results Revealed

The race for the end-of-year Kaohsiung mayoral election continues to heat up. On the 23rd, Zhen Media released the latest public opinion survey of Kaohsiung residents, conducting an in-depth analysis of the next mayoral race. According to the results, in terms of public support, DPP candidate Lai Jui-long received 39.6% support, while KMT candidate Ko Chih-en secured 31.6%. Another 28.8% of respondents expressed no clear opinion, giving Lai a current lead of 8 percentage points.

Beyond support, the gap in election favorability is even more pronounced. The survey shows that 50.3% of Kaohsiung citizens believe Lai Jui-long will win, compared to 22.8% who favor Ko Chih-en, with 26.9% undecided. Lai leads Ko by a significant 27.5 percentage points in favorability.

Cross-analysis by party affiliation reveals strong cohesion among both blue and green party supporters. Among DPP supporters, 79.6% back Lai Jui-long, while 90.6% of KMT supporters stand behind Ko Chih-en. Among Taiwan People's Party supporters, 16.9% support Lai and 69.6% support Ko. Among non-partisan independents, Ko receives 24.3% support, while Lai gains 12.2%.

In favorability by party, 79.1% of DPP supporters expect Lai to win, and 68.7% of KMT supporters believe in Ko's victory. Notably, 38.0% of TPP supporters favor Lai, while 46.8% favor Ko. Among independents, 35.7% believe Lai will win, surpassing Ko's 15.3%, while 48.9% remain undecided.

Focusing on Kaohsiung’s eight legislative districts, Lai achieved 44.3% support in the Fourth District (Daliao-Renwu), his highest across all districts. In contrast, Ko performed strongest in the Third District (Zuoying-Nanzih), with 39.1% support—this is the only district among the eight where Ko leads Lai.

Favorability by district follows a similar pattern. Lai received 56.7% favorability in the First District (Dagou-Meishan), the highest of any district. Ko achieved his peak favorability of 27.8% in the Third District (Zuoying-Nanzih). Overall, except for the closely contested Zuoying-Nanzih area, Lai holds an advantage in most regions and demographic groups.

Further demographic analysis shows Lai performs above average among 30–39-year-olds, seniors aged 60 and above, and respondents with junior high education. Ko gains above-average support among 40–69-year-olds and those with high school, vocational college, or postgraduate degrees.

In favorability by demographic, Lai exceeds the citywide average among male respondents, 30–39-year-olds, and citizens with junior high or university-level education. Ko’s favorability surpasses average among 40–59-year-olds and those with high school or vocational college education.

The survey was commissioned by Zhen Media and conducted by Shanshui Public Opinion Research Co., Ltd. The fieldwork ran from July 18 to 20, 2026, targeting Kaohsiung residents aged 20 and above. The CATI (Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing) system was used for phone interviews. Residential landline numbers were sampled by region, with the last two digits randomized. Weighting was applied based on Ministry of the Interior population data for region, gender, age, and education to match the population structure. A total of 1,069 valid interviews were completed. At a 95% confidence level, the sampling error is approximately ±3.00 percentage points.