North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) polled nine points behind Democratic challenger Roy Cooper in a Monmouth poll of the state’s gubernatorial election.

Cooper leads McCrory 52-43, with Libertarian candidate Lon Cecil polling at 3 percent.

McCrory has gained national attention for signing HB2, which prevents cities and counties from passing their own anti-discrimination rules and barred individuals from the right to sue their workplace for any kind of discrimination.

Among those polled, 55 percent disapproved of HB2 and another 70 percent thought the legislation gave North Carolina a bad reputation nationally.

Monmouth had not previously polled the North Carolina governor’s election, but a NBC/WSJ/Marist poll from earlier this month showed Cooper ahead by seven percent, 51-44.

The Monmouth University poll was conducted Aug. 20-23 among 401 likely North Carolina voters, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percent.

TPM’s PollTracker Average for the North Carolina gubernatorial election shows Cooper leading McCrory, 51.7 to 43.3.