TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨) legislator Ko Chih-en (柯志恩) leads Democratic Progressive Party (DPP, 民進黨) legislator Lai Jui-lung (賴瑞隆) by 6.3 percentage points in Kaohsiung City, a new poll shows. The ETtoday survey, conducted Tuesday through Thursday (Jan. 14-16), found Ko with 44 percent support compared to Lai's 37.7 percent, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.98 percentage points. Kaohsiung, a major port city in southern Taiwan, has traditionally been a DPP stronghold.
Ko enjoys overwhelming support among KMT voters, securing 97.2 percent within the party and 92.2 percent among pan-KMT supporters, the broader conservative coalition. Taiwan People's Party (TPP, 台灣民眾黨) supporters also show strong backing for Ko at 75.8 percent, reflecting significant cohesion in the opposition camp. Lai's support concentrates among DPP camp voters, with 87.7 percent from DPP supporters and 100 percent from Taiwan Statebuilding Party (台灣基進黨) adherents, a smaller pro-independence party.
Pan-DPP supporters, the broader progressive coalition, back Lai with 69.8 percent, while New Power Party (NPP, 時代力量) voters show 58.5 percent support. Among neutral voters, Ko leads with 37.5 percent, while Lai trails with 23.2 percent. The poll, based on a sample of 1,078 Kaohsiung residents aged 20 and above, reveals that 6.4 percent plan to abstain or cast invalid votes, and 11.9 percent remain undecided. ◼