TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP, 民進黨) revealed the results of its primary poll for the Kaohsiung mayoral race on Tuesday (Jan. 13), announcing Lai Rui-long (賴瑞隆) as the candidate. Lai, a legislator, emerged victorious in the telephone poll conducted a day earlier, which confirmed that the sample size from three polling companies met the required standards.
The DPP executed the primary poll for the 2026 mayoral nominations, starting with Kaohsiung. Lai not only outperformed his Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨) opponent Ko Chih-en (柯志恩) but also defeated three other DPP contenders: Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩), Lin Tai-hua (林岱樺), and Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑). The party invited all four candidates or their representatives to attend the unsealing of the poll results at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday (Jan. 13).
The DPP's central headquarters announced the validation of the sample size at 10 a.m. on Jan. 13, with an invitation to have four candidates disclose the results. Lai was once embroiled in a bullying case involving his son, who bullied his peer at school, forcing Lai to present an apology in public with tears. In 2024, Ko, as the KMT candidate in the Kaohsiung mayoral election, gained 40% of the vote.
