black voters

[Franzl]

As some of us were talking about how blacks split between Hillary and Obama during the primary differently depending on the state, I became interested in previous black voting behavior.

I was looking at the 2004 exit polls, and discovered that while overall, 11% of blacks voted for Bush, that they were much more strongly republican in rust belt states.

In Ohio and Pennsylvania, 16% of blacks voted for Bush, and in New Jersey, it was 17%

Any idea why blacks were so republican in this geographical area?

[Franzl]

I guess racial voting patterns can explian low republican support among blacks in the south, but I'm not really sure why exactly blacks in the rust belt area OH, PA, and New Jersey in addition would contain far more conservative blacks than in other northern states. Blacks in IL and NY can't be that much more liberal, can they?