The New Taipei City mayoral race has been turned on its head, with polls showing the Democratic Progressive Party's Su Chiao-hui ahead of the Kuomintang's Lee Szu-chuan for the first time — a warning sign for the blue camp.

• The latest poll shows Su Chiao-hui leading Lee Szu-chuan, after she trailed by more than twenty percentage points in the early stages of the race.
• Over the past six months she has quietly worked her way through the markets, temples and community centres of all 29 districts of New Taipei, building support one vote at a time at the grassroots level.
• She has not gone on the attack against her opponent, letting Lee Szu-chuan lose ground on his own; the controversies over the No. 307 bus route, luxury housing and the 921 earthquake were not of her making.
• Su Tseng-chang's organisational resources have become an asset, and combined with nearly a decade of legislative record, her "political dynasty" baggage has instead turned into a plus.
• New Taipei is one of Taiwan's youngest cities, with a large number of first-time voters, and her youthful image against an old-school team creates a contrast between the new and the old.

Outlook: If the blue camp cannot address questions about its generational image and the controversies dogging it, this polling reversal could continue to widen.