TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) has gained support as efforts to team up with the Kuomintang (KMT) have stalled, according to an opinion poll by My-Formosa.com released Thursday (Nov. 9).

Attempts by KMT candidate Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) and Ko to merge their campaigns have failed so far to agree on a selection method. While the two sides said there was no deadline, the Central Election Commission (CEC) begins registering candidates on Nov. 20.

While the new My-Formosa.com poll shows Ko in third place, he has been climbing in all of the most recent four surveys, the China Times reported. Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) added 1.2% to reach 37.7%, while Hou lost 1.0% to 26.8%. The latest survey saw Ko rise by 1.2% to 21.3%, if only three candidates run in the Jan. 13 election.

If Foxconn Technology founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) is added to the mix, Lai would rise 1.4% to 34.4%, and Hou would lose 0.4% to end at 24.5%. Ko would gain 1.3% to 18.1%, while Gou received 5.7%.

The poll was conducted by Beacon Marketing and Research Co., Ltd. from Nov. 6-8. The survey produced 1,201 valid responses with a margin of error of 2.8%.