Wang Mei-hui, the Democratic Progressive Party nominee and current Chiayi City legislator, holds the strongest position in the November 28, 2026 mayoral race due to her established local base and the city's historical leanings. Chang Chi-kai, the Taiwan People's Party candidate who secured joint KMT-TPP nomination through coordinated polling, trails as the primary challenger with explicit backing from term-limited incumbent KMT Mayor Huang Min-hui and recent cross-party rallies. Minor independent candidates register negligible support. Trader consensus assigns Wang the leading implied probability based on her legislative incumbency advantage and party infrastructure, while Chang's unified opposition effort has narrowed but not closed the gap ahead of the vote.