A little over a week ago, Oz met with GOP state committee members and answered their questions alongside other Republican Senate candidates at a hotel just outside Harrisburg. Afterward, a straw poll was held. Despite his widespread name ID and deep pockets — he’s spent or booked $5.4 million on TV ads since Nov. 30 — Oz received just one vote out of more than 100 cast.

This past weekend, Oz had a chance to prove it was a fluke. Two different groups of state committee members — one in the Allentown area and one in northeastern Pennsylvania — again peppered Senate hopefuls with questions at party events. But he underperformed expectations again: He finished third in one straw poll and fourth in another…

GOP activists and political consultants said Oz is struggling among state committee members partly because his past comments on critical policies are coming back to haunt him. He previously voiced support for abortion rights and “red flag” gun laws. A recent ad by Pennsylvania Patriots PAC also points out that he once starred in a commercial trumpeting former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act.