By Eryk Michael Smith/Staff
KAOHSIUNG — Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Lai Jui-lung (賴瑞隆) secured victory in the party’s Kaohsiung mayoral primary on Monday, immediately pledging party unity and moving to support fellow DPP candidate Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) in the Tainan mayoral contest.
The China Times reports Lai’s win was narrow. He edged out fellow legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) by just 0.6188 percentage points, according to party headquarters.
Lai will now face Kuomintang nominee Ko Chih-en (柯志恩) in the November 2026 mayoral race, as the DPP seeks to extend its decades-long hold on the southern port city.
Kuomintang mayoral candidate Ko, UDN reported, said Tuesday she feels “relieved” now that her opponent in the 2026 Kaohsiung mayoral race has been confirmed. Speaking to reporters at the Legislative Yuan, Ko congratulated Lai on his win and said the result was “not surprising.” She said the race will now clearly be a head-to-head contest — and framed it as “Ko Chih-en versus the New Tide faction.”
Ko said the campaign will be fought “with small resources against big ones,” but insisted that winning does not depend on money alone. The remarks were almost certainly a reference to frozen KMT party assets.
She said her campaign will reset after the Lunar New Year, with a series of policy proposals to be unveiled in March. Ko also welcomed the now-clear two-person race, joking that Kaohsiung streets will finally stop being filled with multiple candidates’ billboards. She said she hopes to run an honorable race focused on ideas rather than attacks.
Speaking after the results were announced, Lai Jui-lung said he had already phoned President Lai Ching-te, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai, and other senior officials, adding that he hopes to soon meet with Mayor Chen. Addressing concerns about internal party divisions, Lai insisted all four primary contenders stood united. “We are all on the Kaohsiung team,” he said. “There will be no split.”
Lai emphasized that he would work to consolidate support from his former rivals and incorporate their campaign proposals into a broader policy platform, building on the achievements of current and past city administrations.
Following his win, the Liberty Times reports, Lai traveled to Tainan to publicly endorse Lin Chun-hsien, joining his campaign motorcade to canvass neighborhoods across the city. Lin said Kaohsiung and Tainan are “brother cities” that must continue cross-city cooperation on environmental protection, transportation, economic development, and disaster response.
Both camps framed the joint appearance as a show of southern regional cooperation, highlighting their intention to continue operating the existing Southern Governance Platform to serve the combined population of more than 4.57 million residents in Kaohsiung and Tainan.
Sources: Liberty Times /China Times / UDN
