Taiwan's ruling DPP is pushing internal polling that paints Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an as the most unpopular of the four main candidates in the capital region — bad news for the opposition KMT heading into the mayoral races.

• DPP internal numbers put Chiang's negative online sentiment near 70%, with positive mentions in the single digits.
• The fight started when President Lai Ching-te mocked Chiang for deflecting city council questions toward Kaohsiung; Chiang shot back that Lai is using him to distract from a tainted cooking oil scandal.
• The DPP's New Taipei candidate Su Chiao-hui is the only one of the four with net positive sentiment, running a deliberately positive campaign.
• KMT New Taipei candidate Lee Si-chuan barely registers in online chatter, undercutting the party's plan to run the two men as a joint ticket.
• The DPP is tying Chiang to unfunded promises on free school lunches, childcare subsidies and postpartum support, plus city projects that went wrong.

Outlook: Expect both sides to keep trading blows over the tainted oil scandal and city hall failures as the mayoral campaigns heat up.