Cracks have emerged within the Kuomintang over the nomination for Changhua County Magistrate, with party chair Cheng Li-wun publicly acknowledging that the outcome did not match the expectations of incumbent magistrate Wang Huei-mei — bad news for blue-camp unity ahead of the election.

• Cheng Li-wun has appeared in Changhua four times in three weeks to campaign alongside nominee Wei Ping-cheng; Wang Huei-mei was absent on all four occasions.
• Wang Huei-mei said on Facebook that the county government had two strong candidates seeking the nomination, and that she learned from news reports that the party's central leadership had chosen Wei Ping-cheng.
• Cheng Li-wun said the party leadership "could not find the perfect Prince Charming the magistrate had in mind," but stressed that there is no bad blood between the two.
• Asked whether she would meet with Wang Huei-mei and how efforts to unify the party were progressing, Cheng Li-wun smiled and declined to answer.
• Cheng Li-wun called on Wei Ping-cheng to "prove to Wang Huei-mei that he is up to the job," effectively shifting the burden of unifying the party onto the candidate.

Outlook: The rift in the blue camp in Changhua is unlikely to be mended in the near term, and whether Wang Huei-mei is willing to appear publicly alongside Wei Ping-cheng will be a key indicator.