Black Politicians Face Voters' Ire For Supporting Clinton

Brooklyn's 10th Congressional District, home to more African-Americans than any other in New York, gave Senator Barack Obama his highest margin of victory in the state. But the district's longtime congressman, Edolphus Towns, did not share his constituency's preference for Mr. Obama. Now some of those voters are pushing to oust him.

Kevin Powell is challenging Mr. Towns for his seat.

"His decision not to back Obama shows he is out of touch with his constituents," said N. Chandler, a former city corrections officer who lives in Bedford-Stuyvesant and who had supported Mr. Towns in the past. "And I think the people of this district are ready for a change."

The tensions in the district echo those in a handful of races around the country as Democratic incumbents with large African-American constituencies try to soothe resentments and anger incited by their support for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Even after Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton embraced in Unity, N.H., on Friday and sought to put their divisions behind them, some strains are still evident closer to the ground.

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