Wu Hsiu-hua, the Kuomintang nominee and incumbent Taitung County Council speaker, holds a commanding 72% implied probability in the November 28, 2026, magistrate election, reflecting Taitung’s long-standing KMT structural advantage in a county where the DPP has never won the top executive post. Chen Ying, the DPP legislator with indigenous Puyuma heritage and a family political legacy, trails at 29% as the main challenger, while independent Li Wu Ying-chih sits near zero. Recent developments reinforcing trader consensus include the KMT’s December 2025 nomination of Wu to succeed term-limited incumbent Yao Ching-ling, the DPP’s October 2025 selection of Chen, and former DPP legislator Liu Chao-hao’s July withdrawal from an independent bid that could have split opposition votes. September 2026 probes into alleged favoritism in a road-widening project tied to Wu’s family have surfaced but have not materially altered positioning ahead of the vote.