TAIPEI (TVBS News) — As the 2024 presidential election draws closer, a new poll released Wednesday (Dec. 20) by ETtoday shows a tight race with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Lai-Hsiao ticket (Lai Ching-te, Hsiao Bi-khim) receiving 35.9% support, slightly leading the Kuomintang (KMT) Hou-Jaw ticket (Hou Yu-ih, Jaw Shaw-kong) at 34.7%, while the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) Ko-Wu (Ko Wen-je, Cynthia Wu) ticket trails with 19.6%.
Despite the close percentages, 44.3% of the public feels confident in the Lai-Hsiao ticket's ability to win the election, compared to 30.1% for Hou-Jaw and 13.8% for Ko-Wu.
On the opposite spectrum, 40.5% of voters are certain they will not cast their ballot for Lai-Hsiao, with 27.3% rejecting Hou-Jaw and 20.6% turning away from Ko-Wu.
In the legislative battle, the KMT is ahead with 35% for non-constituency legislators, followed by the DPP with 31.3% and the TPP at 14.5%.
Furthermore, ETtoday's poll indicates 47.1% of those surveyed worry that a Lai Ching-te presidency could worsen cross-strait economic and people-to-people exchanges, with 16.4% feeling the same about Hou Yu-ih and 11.6% about Ko Wen-je.
The poll, conducted from Dec. 18 to 19 by ETtoday, sampled 1,224 respondents aged 20 and above through text messages, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8%.
Compared to the previous poll from Dec. 14 to 15, support for the Lai-Hsiao ticket has dropped by 2.6 percentage points, while the Hou-Jaw ticket saw a minor decline of 0.4 percentage points, and the Ko-Wu ticket remained unchanged.
