Taichung's 2026 local election race got underway with a heavy first day of candidate filings, though no one has yet signed up to run for mayor.

• 27 people registered to run for city council on the opening day; the mayoral race drew no filings at all.
• The Taiwan People's Party got all six of its sitting councillors registered in one go.
• The KMT's eight-member council caucus also filed in full, while seven of the DPP's eight from the party's "Ing" faction registered together.
• Three candidates filed as independents, including Yang Pao-chen in the 11th district, who is running without a party.
• Filings spread across more than a dozen districts, pointing to crowded multi-seat contests in several parts of the city.

Outlook: More registrations are expected in the days ahead, with the mayoral field likely to take shape before the filing window closes.