Reporter Ge Youhao/Special Article
A total of five people have registered to run for the Kaohsiung mayoral election, and the blue and green parties are still fighting. The Lai Ruilong camp of the Democratic Progressive Party assesses that it still has a lead of nearly double digits and is making steady progress; the Ke Zhien camp of the Kuomintang believes that it has entered a five-to-five wave situation and strives to make a comeback.
The Democratic Progressive Party regards the Kaohsiung City election as a top priority. Lai Ruilong emphasized that 10 years of experience in the city government and 10 years of congressional experience will be used to "continue the glory of Kaohsiung and the crucial fourth leg" as the main theme of the campaign, and to make Kaohsiung continue to be the number one city. With the support of five-star mayor Chen Qimai's high satisfaction, Lai's opinion polls have been leading. "How much can Chen Qimai's support be transferred? It will be the key to the battle situation."
The Lai camp adopts a "Nine-Gongge Tactics" compound mobilization strategy to establish various support clubs through the district leaders and professional society systems. It is expected that after the establishment of the General Competition in October, a large-scale campaign will be launched to heat up the election and stimulate the voting willingness of green camp and intermediate voters.
Green camp auxiliary election cadres assessed that the Maginot Line timetable is at the end of September. If Ke Zhien's support is still not increased before the end of September, the outcome of this election may be determined.
Ke Zhien, who strives to turn green land into blue sky, settled in Kaohsiung to accumulate strength after being defeated in 2022. This time, the KMT party emblem will not be displayed on the billboard, and he will try his best to win over the middle voters. According to the internal assessment of the party, Ke's femininity and cheerful image are as powerful as eating sugar cane, and the two sides have shown a five-to-five trend.
The political circles believe that Chen Qimai has laid the foundation for the municipal government in six years. Ke Zhien must argue that "I am more capable of taking over than Lai Ruilong" and focus the campaign on the characteristics of the candidates instead of the traditional blue-green showdown in order to have a chance.
Since late August, Kaohsiung has been experiencing continuous torrential rains, with frequent potholes and water logging on the roads. Lan Ying wants to replicate the comeback model of the "Korean Wave" in 2018, but the memory of Korea in that year is still negative for the public. Whether it can be achieved remains to be seen. Ke Zhien's lectures at the temple are still ongoing, and a large-scale campaign is expected to be launched in mid-September. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wanan and other big names will be invited to Kaohsiung to assist in the election.
As for the other three registered candidates of the Judicial Reform Party, Zhang Jing, Wang Zhaomin and Hong Fanglong, who have no party membership, they are not yet able to influence the battle situation due to their low popularity.
