(RALEIGH) -- Gov. Beverly Perdue is trailing by 8 points in a hypothetical rematch with former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory. The governor has been down by as much as 14 points against McCrory this year.

Tom Jensen of Public Policy Polling said Perdue's biggest challenge is that her fellow Democrats are not enthusiastic about her.  "Her approval has sort of been in the 50's persistently with Democratic voters.  Usually you're going to see a governor more in the 70 to 80 percent range with members of their own party, so her lack of support from the based is her biggest problem but she also has pretty poor numbers with Independents and virtually no Republicans like her," said Jensen.

Jensen added that McCrory is a strong favorite in a rematch due to his popularity with both Independents and Democrats. McCrory has not yet declared whether he will run for governor.