Tainan's first council district is heading into a calmer race than last time, and the odds favor the five sitting councillors — bad news for the three newcomers trying to break in.

• Eight candidates are running for five seats, down from six because the area lost population.
• The DPP is running its three incumbents together with mayoral candidate Chen Ting-fei, giving them a boost from the top of the ticket.
• The KMT nominated only its strongest sitting councillor and is backing a Taiwan People's Party newcomer, Chen Shih-wei, for the seat reserved for a woman.
• Two heavyweight figures from the last term are gone — one died in office, one is not running — leaving more than 22,000 votes up for grabs.
• Big names from both parties have campaigned for Chen Shih-wei, but the alliance only works if KMT voters are actually told to split their votes her way.

Outlook: The incumbents look safe, and the blue-white alliance will be tested by whether it can turn talk into transferred votes.