COLUMBUS, Ohio—Black Ohioans are more conservative than many people might think, favoring small government, taxpayer funding for private schools, gun rights over gun control, and private health insurance over a single-payer system, a sweeping new poll has found.

The survey of 1,500 black Ohioans, unveiled Wednesday by the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus Foundation and the University of Akron’s Bliss Institute, offers a first-of-its-kind statewide look into the political thoughts of Ohio’s 1.7 million black residents.

Sixty percent of those polled said they prefer small state government, with fewer services and lower taxes, over larger state government.

In addition, 53 percent agreed with protecting the right of citizens to own guns, compared with 47 percent who agreed with restricting the right of citizens to own guns. That finding was “surprising,” said John Green, director of the Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron.

Seventy percent of those polled preferred a health-care system that mixes public programs and private insurance, as opposed to 30 percent who back a single-payer insurance system.

The poll found 61 percent support for taxpayer funding for not just public schools, but also charter, religious, and private schools.

Those numbers are notable given the historical support for Democratic candidates by black voters in Ohio and around the country. They show that Ohio’s black population is “not monolithic” and are conservative on a number of issues, Green said.

On some other issues, black views are in keeping with the platform of mainstream Democrats.

More than three-quarters of those surveyed backed abortion rights, and 75 percent agreed that strict environmental laws are worth the cost for better health and quality of life.

Two-thirds said they believe that public assistance does more good than harm.

More than 15 percent of those polled said crime was the most important problem in Ohio right now, followed by drugs (12.6 percent), the need for more jobs (10.2 percent) and guns/gun control (6.8 percent).

State Rep. Stephanie Howse, a Cleveland Democrat who heads the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus, told reporters the poll’s findings support, rather than conflict with, the voting records of caucus members, who are all Democrats who have supported tighter gun-control measures.

Howse said while the poll quizzed black Ohioans about their overarching thoughts on various issues, that doesn’t necessarily reflect their views about specific policy ideas.

“We believe -- I believe -- that everyone should actually be able to own a gun. ...There’s no disagreement on that,” Howse said. "It is a very different thing when you’re talking the implementation of a ‘stand your ground’ bill and to pass the ‘no duty of retreat.'”

The poll was conducted in December 2019 and January 2020 via phone and online. The survey’s margin of error is +/- 2 percentage points.