Previous leaders of the KMT had been elected by the party congress in a one-man race (with the candidate being either the incumbent or his designated successor).

His clean and competent public image and personal charisma has made him a widely popular politician, especially among female and younger voters.

Wang Jin-pyng, also a vice chairman of the KMT, though less popular and charismatic than his opponent, has gained the reputation of being a shrewd and capable politician.

Lien Chan, although promising to stay neutral during the campaign, was accidentally caught by news cameras voting for Wang Jin-pyng.

In contrast, the only senior KMT political heavyweight endorsement received by Ma was from Hau Pei-tsun, although Ma received endorsement from some of his fellow middle-aged KMT politicians, including Jason Hu, the mayor of Taichung; Eric Chu, the magistrate of Taoyuan County; and Wu Den-yih, legislator from Nantou County and former mayor of Kaohsiung.

At the same time, Ma needed to dispel the stereotype of him as an urban Mainlander from Taipei unconnected with rural southern Holo-speaking Taiwan.

The 1.1 million members included a much greater proportion of native Taiwanese and some less enthusiastic supporters of the party who joined as a result of working for a state-run enterprise in which, before democratic reforms in the 1990s, KMT membership was encouraged and somewhat compelled.

Finally it was agreed to that all card-carrying members would be able to vote as polls showed Ma running ahead of Wang even with the franchise opened.

This request by Wang arguably backfired, as it might have very well been the case that members who were less involved with internal party politics became more attracted to Ma's personality.