(WHTM) – A new Monmouth University poll has the Pennsylvania Republican Senate race in a virtual three-way tie between Mehmet Oz, Dave McCormick, and Kathy Barnette.

The poll, conducted in the days leading up to the abc27 U.S. Senate Republican primary debate, found Oz with 22% of voters “very likely” to vote for him, followed by McCormick with 19%, and Barnette with 18%.

Carla Sands received 9% and Jeff Bartos finished fifth with 7% in the poll of 407 registered Republicans.

The poll had a margin of error of +/- 4.9%, placing the top three candidates within striking distance of the nomination.

“This is the kind of environment where a number of candidates could emerge as the nominee.  Oz has the highest name recognition but also the highest negatives. If McCormick and Oz beat each other up, though, Barnette could realistically end up on top,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.

While Oz led among voters with 18% saying they were “very favorable” of him as a candidate, he also led in the “somewhat” and “very unvaforable” with double digit points.

When adding the “very” and “somewhat” favorable numbers, McCormick had 51% support, followed by Oz with 48% and Barnette with 37%. When voters were asked how likely they were to vote for a candidate, McCormick received 61% among the very and somewhat likely voters, while Oz and Barnette each received 51%.

Fifty-four percent of Oz voters said they were a “strong supporter” compared to only 30% of McCormick supporters and 17% of Barnette’s supporters.

Fifty-one percent said the question of Oz’s residency “bothered them” either a lot or a little.

The two biggest concerns among Republicans in the poll were inflation and illegal immigration.

Seventy percent of both Republicans and Democrats said they were “certain to vote” on May 17.