TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — DPP Yilan County magistrate candidate Lin Kuo-chang (林國漳) is leading potential opponents from the KMT and TPP in both head-to-head and three-way race scenarios, according to a new poll.

A survey by Formosa released Thursday found Lin leading KMT Legislator Wu Tsung-hsien (吳宗憲) by 2.8 percentage points and former TPP legislator Chen Wan-hui (陳琬惠) by 9.1 points in separate head-to-head matchups, per NOWNews. In a three-way race, Lin received 33% support, followed by Wu at 26.6% and Chen at 7.9%.

When asked about party preference, 30.4% of respondents said they would support giving the DPP a chance to govern, compared with 23.6% who favored continued KMT leadership.

The poll was conducted March 16–18 among 1,070 respondents and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

Responding to the results, Lin expressed gratitude for the support, calling it motivation to continue his campaign, per SETN. Wu’s office said he remains within striking distance, noting that opposition forces have yet to consolidate, per Liberty Times.

Chen highlighted the number of undecided voters, saying she previously secured about 21% of the vote in the 2024 legislative election after starting with single-digit support.

A local political source said the KMT’s main challenges lie in unifying local factions and forming a potential opposition alliance with the TPP. Although Yilan County Council Speaker Chang Sheng-te (張勝德) has backed Wu after losing the primary, it remains unclear whether local factions will fully rally behind him.

KMT Chair Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文), accompanied by Chang, visited former KMT Yilan County branch head Chang Chien-jung (張建榮) on Thursday, urging support for Wu in the 2026 election, per UDN.

Tensions also persist over a possible opposition alliance. A local supporter of Chang criticized Chen’s camp for signaling reluctance to cooperate with Chang during the KMT primary and for reporting Yilan County Magistrate Lin Tzu-miao (林姿妙) to the Control Yuan during the 2022 election cycle, per ETtoday.

Amid speculation the KMT could back Chen as part of a joint ticket, a local insider said he would prefer supporting a local candidate over “an outsider who backstabbed Yilan County’s magistrate.”