Su Chiao-hui launches New Taipei mayoral campaign with Sanchong as key battleground

Su Chiao-hui, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate for New Taipei City Mayor, attended the inauguration of her joint campaign headquarters in Sanchong with DPP city councilor Peng Chia-yun on the 27th, officially kicking off the final 62-day countdown to the election. Speaking at the event, Su stated bluntly, "If New Taipei is to win, it starts in Sanchong," emphasizing that votes from Sanchong District will be the key factor determining the outcome across the entire city. She pointed out that with only two months remaining until polling day, every opportunity must be seized to fight for a better future for her hometown.

As Taiwan's most populous metropolitan county and city, New Taipei has historically been a focal point of contention between the Blue and Green parties in mayoral elections. While the previous mayoral term was held by Kuomintang (KMT) incumbent Hou You-yi, and the DPP lost the local elections last year, the party still regards New Taipei as a crucial battlefield for nationwide elections. Reclaiming the mayoral seat in New Taipei would provide a major boost to the DPP within the national political landscape and help raise the party's visibility ahead of the upcoming presidential and legislative elections.

Su is a veteran DPP politician who has previously served as a legislator, long engaged in grassroots service across various districts in New Taipei, and accumulated a substantial voter base. Her campaign axis focuses on public infrastructure, transportation improvements, and housing safety, with a particular emphasis on resolving Sanchong District's long-standing issues of aging housing and parking difficulties. The various urban renewal bills she promoted in the Legislative Yuan in the past have earned her a local reputation for being "pragmatic," which has also become a core appeal in her challenge for the mayoral seat.

Located in the northwestern part of New Taipei City and with a population exceeding 200,000, Sanchong District is a traditionally contested swing district. In past elections, the vote share between the Blue and Green parties has often fluctuated between 50 and 56 percent, demonstrating voters' high sensitivity to policies and candidate images. In recent years, Sanchong's aging public facilities, traffic bottlenecks, and growing social welfare demands have become issues of utmost concern to voters. Su believes that by offering concrete solutions to these pain points, she can break the KMT's inherent advantage and secure the critical vote share needed to rewrite the city-wide election landscape.

Peng is an active DPP city councilor in the New Taipei City Council. She is responsible for coordinating regional volunteers, planning street campaigns, and promoting social media outreach, while jointly planning the "Sanchong First" action blueprint with Su's team. The joint headquarters not only integrates party and grassroots resources but also establishes a voter service center providing immediate consultations and policy explanations, hoping to boost voter participation and turnout through a style of "closeness to the people and problem-solving." This move also demonstrates that the DPP has clearly focused its strategic center of gravity on key constituencies in the final stage before the election.

Overall, if Su can successfully mobilize Sanchong voters within the remaining 62 days and create a chain reaction city-wide, it will significantly increase the DPP's chances of reclaiming the mayoral seat in New Taipei City. The victory or defeat of the New Taipei mayoral race not only impacts local governance but also influences the balance of power in national politics, holding indicative significance for the upcoming presidential and legislative elections. Consequently, the strategy starting from Sanchong has become one of the most closely watched focal points of this election campaign.