Seven candidates are chasing Kinmen's top county job, and the KMT's Chen Yu-chen is the clear front-runner, which is bad news for the five independents with no party machine behind them.

• Chen Yu-chen, a three-term lawmaker and former county councillor, has the most campaign experience and the deepest local roots.
• Former deputy county chief Lee Wen-liang is closing the gap fast, helped by a friendly, quick-moving style that won over younger civil servants.
• Ex-county chief Yang Chen-wu decided not to run, a sign the pro-Beijing-leaning KMT camp is closing ranks instead of splitting its vote.
• The other five candidates — including an Oxford-trained politics professor and a tourism businessman — are all independents and struggle for name recognition.
• Local talk says extra candidates were pushed into the race to drain Lee's vote, so a strong showing would not set him up for a later legislative by-election.

Outlook: Chen looks set to hold her lead unless Lee can turn the race into a straight two-way contest.