TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The latest poll by RW News shows support for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Lai Ching-te (賴清德) continuing to rise and the gap between him and the three other rivals widening.
In the poll released Wednesday (Sept. 20), Lai came in first with the backing of 42.52% of respondents. In second place is Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) at 24.23%, followed by Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) of the Kuomintang (KMT) at 22.25%, and Foxconn founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) in last place at 6.58%.
The news agency pointed out that support for Lai has steadily increased over the past three months, with 38.23% of respondents favoring him in July, 40.56% in August, and 42.52% in September. Ko has seen his support fluctuating somewhat with 25.29% opting for him in July, 23.13% in August, and 24.23% in September.
Hou has seen his backing continue to rise, but only slightly, with support rates of 20.39%, 22.16%, and 22.25% over the past three months. Gou has witnessed a steady decline in support with approval ratings of 9.22%, 8.96%, and 6.58% during this period.
The media outlet observed that although Gou was the first candidate to announce a running mate, he did not receive any political dividends. However, Lai appears to be unaffected by recent allegations that his home in New Taipei City was constructed illegally.
Ko seems to be unaffected by the controversy over TPP Hsinchu City Mayor Kao Hung-an's (高虹安) purported NT$50 million mansion (US$1.56 million), luxury cars, and corruption charges, as well as allegations of her "boyfriend’s" — Lee Chung-ting (李忠庭) — interference in municipal matters.
The survey found that Hou's support in September increased slightly by one percentage point from the previous month. His support among women aged 20 to 29 increased by the widest margin of 2.01 percentage points. However, support among women over 60 fell by 1.87 percentage points.
RW News said that in July, Gou was ambiguous about whether he would make a presidential bid and did not announce his candidacy, resulting in a support rate of 9.22%. In August, Gou's support rate was only slightly lower at 8.96%.
On Aug. 28, Gou announced his candidacy and on Sept. 14 he revealed that his running mate would be veteran entertainer Tammy Darshana Lai (賴佩霞). On Sept. 17, the two went to the Central Election Commission to register as presidential and vice presidential candidates, and on Sept. 20, they began the process of collecting the mandatory 289,667 signatures to qualify as eligible candidates.
The poll was conducted for five days from Sept. 12-16 and collected 10,846 valid samples. RM News assessed that before Gou could enjoy a boost of support by his selection of a running mate, his camp was overwhelmed by controversy over Tammy Darshana Lai's dual citizenship, educational background, and psychology licenses.