A nomination fight inside Taiwan's KMT is spilling into the open in Changhua, which is bad news for party unity ahead of the county magistrate race.

• KMT chair Cheng Li-wun went to Changhua again to campaign for the party's pick for county magistrate, Wei Ping-cheng.
• She praised the three who wanted the nomination and did not get it — lawmaker Hsieh Yi-feng, former deputy magistrate Ko Cheng-fang, and Hung Jung-chang — calling them treasures the party will cultivate.
• Ko fired back on Facebook that a treasure should not be remembered only after the nomination is over, and that respect has to be more than talk.
• His real complaint is that the party promised to listen to local voices and then did not, after years of him working the ground there.
• Supporters are split, with some urging him to run anyway or leave the party, and others telling him to fall in line.

Outlook: Changhua is a swing battleground, so the KMT will keep pushing to patch up the rift before the campaign gets going.