TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Shih-chien (王世堅) emerged Tuesday as the strongest challenger to Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安), according to new polling.
Between DPP candidates, Wang held a decisive lead over Taiwan Forward founder Enoch Wu (吳怡農) and DPP Legislator Wu Szu-yao (吳思瑤), beating them by 29.5 points and 36 points, respectively, per ShotNews. Still, Chiang defeated all potential DPP contenders in head-to-head matchups, with Wang performing the best but trailing by 19.2 points, per ShotNews.
Taipei City Councilor Miao Po-ya (苗博雅), a high-profile figure from the local political faction, also fell to Chiang by more than 30 points. Chiang’s relatively stable 67% approval rating — consistent with similar polling from September 2024 — may serve as a warning sign for the DPP, especially as the central government’s approval rating has slipped to 39.1%, with disapproval rising to 54%.
The ShotNews poll was conducted Nov. 17–19, surveying 1,077 respondents via landline. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.99 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.
Enoch Wu on Wednesday released results from an internal DPP survey, arguing he has the strongest potential to expand support beyond the party’s base, per CNA. He said he ranked second among non-KMT and non-TPP voters and was the top second-choice candidate in that group.
Wu also noted that his support among DPP voters is within the margin of error when compared with Wang. He emphasized that he is the only candidate from the internal poll who has both expressed willingness to run and taken concrete steps toward doing so.
Other figures included in the DPP’s internal polling were Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋), Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君), and former DPP Secretary-General Lin Yu-chang (林右昌). When asked why the internal poll did not feature head-to-head matchups with Chiang, Wu said its purpose was to identify the strongest DPP challenger.
The DPP internal poll was conducted Nov. 20–23, surveying 1,075 respondents — 535 by landline and 540 by cellphone — with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.99 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.
Responding to the surveys, Wang said polling is only one factor in the DPP’s nomination process, per UDN. He added that Wu, Shen, Lin, and Cheng are all stronger candidates than himself.
Wang singled out Cheng as the most suitable nominee, praising her handling of confidential tariff negotiation updates with the US. He argued that Cheng maintained transparency without yielding to public pressure to disclose sensitive information.
