Taiwan's DPP says its candidate is far ahead in the key Changhua county race, good news for the ruling party and bad for a divided KMT.

• With 101 days to the local elections, both parties held leadership meetings in Changhua on the same day, showing how much the county matters.
• DPP internal numbers put Chen Su-yueh near 36% against KMT rival Wei Ping-cheng at about 18%.
• The DPP credits an early start and getting its factions to line up, while the KMT is still split after a bitter primary.
• Chen's team is running a friendly campaign, even praising the sitting KMT county chief, to pull in voters from across party lines.
• A former DPP mayor running outside the party is not seen as a real threat to the DPP vote.

Outlook: The KMT gap should narrow once it patches up its internal fight, but the DPP expects to hold the lead and win outright.