TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taoyuan Mayor Chang San-cheng (張善政) holds a commanding lead over potential DPP challengers in the 2026 mayoral race, according to a new poll.
The latest TVBS poll showed Chang defeating DPP Legislator Wang Yi-chuan (王義川), Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Ho Chih-wei (何志偉), and Deputy Justice Minister Huang Shih-chieh (黃世杰) by an average margin of about 40 percentage points in hypothetical head-to-head matchups. Wang and Ho performed slightly better than Huang, trailing Chang by 39 points.
In matchups against Wang and Ho, Chang led across all age groups, securing at least 50% support in each demographic. Ho performed best among voters ages 20–29, with 24% support, while Wang’s support in the same age group dropped 11 points from the previous poll to 19%.
Wang appeared to be more effective than Ho at mobilizing core DPP supporters, though both attracted similar levels of backing from independent voters. The TVBS poll was conducted Dec. 5–12 among 953 respondents, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.
Commenting on the results, Wang said he was not surprised, potentially referencing perceptions that TVBS polling tends to favor the Kuomintang, per TVBS. Huang said he has continued to serve Taoyuan even after taking a position in the central government.
Ho has not commented on the poll. Chang thanked voters for their support while saying there is still much work to be done to improve the city, per UDN.
Among potential DPP contenders, Ho has been the most active in recent outreach efforts. He recently visited Taoyuan’s Nanmen Market with City Councilor Li Kuang-ta (李光達), per China Times.
Ho, a member of the Green Fellowship Association (綠色友誼連線), also attended a meeting of the Green Legislators’ Coalition’s board of directors and supervisors. The coalition is made up of former DPP and Taiwan Solidarity Party lawmakers and is chaired by Kao Chih-peng (高志鵬), a member of Wang Yi-chuan’s Taiwan Normal Country Promotion Association faction.
Ho reportedly attended the meeting both as a board member and as a representative of the Presidential Office. After the meeting, he reportedly sang “Happy Birthday” to several attendees, drawing a positive response from the crowd, per UP Media.
At one point, participants suggested that, with Wang absent, Ho should instead run as the DPP’s candidate for Taoyuan mayor. Ho is rumored to have arranged visits for key supporters to the Presidential Office Building on their birthdays.
Kao served in President Lai Ching-te’s (賴清德) 2024 campaign. Ho, who lost a DPP primary to Legislator Wang Shih-chien (王世堅), a member of former President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) faction, was appointed to his current post shortly after Lai took office.
Ho has reportedly portrayed himself as Lai’s preferred candidate during visits to Taoyuan, though he is said to have scaled back such claims following pushback from senior party figures.
