Masuzoe was considered by both the Liberal Democratic Party and Democratic Party of Japan as a potential candidate for the 2014 gubernatorial election in Tokyo. In a December 2013 LDP poll, he reportedly had the strongest support among a broad field of potential candidates. The party was divided with regard to candidate selection, with local LDP lawmakers seeking an experienced candidate and the central party leadership seeking a candidate with name recognition; Masuzoe was viewed as a compromise between these two requirements, even though he was no longer a member of the LDP.