Robert T. Bennett

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For other persons named Robert Bennett, see Robert Bennett (disambiguation).

Robert T. Bennett (born 1939) is the chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, having served in that post since 1988.

He managed Robert Taft, Jr.'s successful U.S. Senate campaign in 1970, in which he defeated Howard Metzenbaum to replace retiring Senator Stephen M. Young. The next year he managed the campaign of Ralph Perk for Mayor of Cleveland. From 1974 to 1988, he served as Vice-Chairman of the Cuyahoga County Republican Party. Bennett has been very successful in winning elections as Chairman of the Ohio Republican Party. As of 2006, all major statewide offices, sans one Supreme Court seat, are held by Republicans. When Bennett took over in the late 1980s, the Ohio Democratic Party held most of the important statewide offices and held majorities in the Ohio House of Representatives and on the Ohio Supreme Court.

Under Bennett's leadership the Republicans swept total power in Ohio in 1994, however, Ohio Republicans suffered disastrous defeats in the November, 2006 elections. While Republicans won the complete control of the Ohio Supreme Court, they lost the races for Senator, Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, and Treasurer, but held the position of State Auditor.

Robert T. Bennett was the Chairman of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, having been appointed by Ohio Secretary of State and 2006 Republican candidate for Governor, J. Kenneth Blackwell to serve in this capacity until February 2010. However, he was forced to resign in April 2007, as reported by the Cleveland Plain Dealer.