Pennsylvania Senate Race Heating Up: Virtual Tie in the Polls

There is a virtual tie in the Pennsylvania Republican primary for the U.S. Senate seat roughly two weeks before voters go to the polls on May 17, according to a Franklin & Marshall poll.

Franklin & Marshall’s poll showed there is a virtual tie between the top candidates, with between 325 registered Republican Pennsylvania voters and a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percent.

The poll found only 18 percent of Republican respondents said they would vote for the celebrity doctor, Mehmet Oz. While in comparison, there was also 16 percent who would vote for David McCormick, and in third, Kathy Barnette garnered 12 percent of the respondents.

The other candidates in the race were stuck in the single digits: Carla Sands showed five percent in the poll, Jeff Bartos showed two percent, Sean Gale showed one percent, and George Bochetto did not even get one percent in the poll. There were also five percent who said someone else, one percent said none, and 39 percent still did not know who to vote for.

Of the respondents, two-in-five respondents (39 percent) said they were not sure who they wanted to vote for in the Republican primary when the poll was taken. The poll also showed that 57 percent of the respondents picked a candidate but said their minds could be changed.

Dr. Oz — who has a very slight lead in the poll but within the margin of error — has a negative favorability rating among Republican voters. Of the Republican voters, 41 percent viewed him unfavorably, while only 29 percent viewed him favorably.

However, with the faction of voters who have supported former President Donald Trump, McCormick shows a clear advantage. Of those respondents, 29 percent said they favor McCormick, while only 19 percent favor Dr. Oz, and 18 percent said Barnette.

The poll was conducted at the Center for Opinion Research at Franklin & Marshall with 325 registered Republican Pennsylvania voters. The interviews were conducted from April 20 to May 1 and showed a margin or error of plus or minus 4.4 percent.

Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.