KMT ramps up local and overseas campaigning for Taiwan's 2026 local elections
Taiwan's opposition KMT is throwing its lawmakers into local races across the island and courting overseas voters, aiming to win in 2026 and retake national power in 2028.
- KMT lawmakers are being deployed as campaign chiefs in county after county, from Nantou and Keelung to Taitung, Hualien and Taichung.
- Party leader Cheng Li-wun is pushing for full unity behind KMT candidates, framing 2026 as the base for a 2028 comeback.
- The KMT is teaming up with the smaller TPP in several counties, including Miaoli and Keelung, to concentrate votes against the ruling DPP.
- A group of KMT lawmakers toured San Francisco and other US cities to rally overseas Taiwanese, mixing campaign fundraising with US outreach and congressional diplomacy.
- The DPP is playing the same game abroad, with its Taipei mayoral hopeful setting up a support group in Japan.
Outlook: Expect more blue-white coordination deals and overseas vote drives as the local elections approach, with both camps treating 2026 as a dry run for 2028.