By KHT Staff. AI illustration image.
KAOHSIUNG — Two recent polls are giving sharply different pictures of the 2026 Kaohsiung mayoral race.
A survey released Friday by the New Taiwan National Policy Think Tank (新台灣國策智庫) showed Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Lai Jui-lung (賴瑞隆) leading Kuomintang (KMT) candidate Ko Chih-en (柯志恩) by 17.8 percentage points, Liberty Times reported.
The poll showed Lai with 46.2% support, Ko with 28.4%, and 25.4% undecided. It was conducted by telephone from June 9 to 10 among 1,094 Kaohsiung residents aged 20 and above, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.96 percentage points.
The result contrasts with a recent TVBS poll that showed Lai at 40.3% and Ko at 39.7%, a gap of just 0.6 percentage points.
Lai said the latest poll was only a temporary indicator and that his campaign would continue strengthening local support.
Ko’s campaign questioned the poll’s credibility, calling it a survey released by a “green think tank.”
The contrast shows how polling sponsor, timing, wording, sampling, and method can shape results and how campaigns interpret them.
