Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an of the Kuomintang (KMT) has repeatedly opened fire on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in recent days, but this line of attack may end up hurting his own party's candidates in southern Taiwan — bad news for the KMT's electoral prospects.

• Asked in the city council about the controversy over Taipei's sunshades, Chiang Wan-an brought up the large budget for Kaohsiung's Cianjhen Fishing Port, drawing criticism that his answer had nothing to do with the question.
• Veteran journalist Huang Wei-han argued that Chiang Wan-an should stick to his duties as Taipei mayor and focus on city affairs, leaving cross-regional attacks on DPP candidates to party chair Cheng Li-wun.
• The remarks instead highlighted the fact that Tainan candidate Hsieh Lung-chieh has yet to propose a debate to his opponent Chen Ting-fei — effectively exposing the weakness of his flagging campaign, and dragging down Kaohsiung's Ko Chih-en as well.
• With only three months to go before the 2026 local elections, New Taipei City has become the most closely watched battleground, and the latest polls show Su Chiao-hui trailing Lee Ssu-chuan by just 2 percentage points.
• Cheng Li-wun herself has admitted that the KMT "does indeed have problems" in Chiayi City and Changhua County, and anxious voices have begun to surface within the party.

Outlook: With the campaign entering its white-hot phase after candidate registration, the battles on three fronts — New Taipei, Hsinchu and southern Taiwan — will decide the contest between the blue and green camps, and whether Chiang Wan-an reins in his cross-regional commentary has become a key point to watch.