Taiwan's local elections are 89 days out and the race is tightening, with New Taipei City emerging as the contest that could decide which party comes out ahead.

• The ruling green camp is ahead in Changhua, Chiayi and Yilan, while New Taipei, Hsinchu and Taitung are dead even.
• New Taipei is now seen as the single most important race of the cycle.
• A front-page report that New Taipei's mayor Hou Yu-ih is backing his own party's candidate, Lee Si-chuan, signals how tense things are — that kind of endorsement is normally routine and would not be news.
• The green camp is pushing hard into Taipei and the blue camp is going after Kaohsiung, each side's home turf, and losing one would likely cost a party chair their job.
• Candidate registration formally opens this week.

Outlook: Expect the fight to center on New Taipei as registration begins and both parties throw resources at each other's strongholds.