Taiwan's November 28 local elections are tightening in the north, with pressure building on Taipei's sitting mayor and the opposition split hurting itself in Hsinchu County.

• In Taipei, DPP challenger Puma Shen has closed the gap by playing up his own image and downplaying party branding.
• Incumbent mayor Chiang Wan-an is on the defensive after a run of city problems — rats, flooding in Neihu, a preschool abuse case, and spending controversies — and needs a big win, not a narrow one.
• New Taipei is the DPP's best shot in 20 years, but Su Chiao-hui is squeezed as the TPP's voters lean toward KMT candidate Lee Szu-chuan.
• Su has brought in former president Tsai Ing-wen to chair her campaign, hoping to pull in swing, young and light-blue voters.
• Talks between the KMT and the TPP in Zhubei collapsed, leaving four opposition-leaning candidates splitting the vote and handing the DPP an opening.

Outlook: If the KMT and TPP cannot repair their alliance after Zhubei, the split could cost them seats in November and carry into the next presidential race.