Robert T. Bennett serves as chairman of the Ohio Republican Party and one of three Ohio representatives to the Republican National Committee, of which he has been a member for more than two decades. Mr. Bennett is one of the most successful and longest-serving state political party chairs in the nation, having previously presided as Chairman of the Ohio Republican Party from 1988 to 2009.

Upon his election as chairman in 1988, he inherited a party that held no statewide offices or legislative majorities and, within a decade, successfully led a Republican effort to win control of all three branches of Ohio government. During his tenure, Republicans held the Ohio governor's office for an unprecedented 16 years, swept every statewide office, held solid majorities in the Ohio House and Ohio Senate, dominated Ohio's congressional delegation, won unanimous control of the Ohio Supreme Court, and took more than 63 percent of all county elective offices in the state. During his tenure, he earned a national reputation as an expert on state party operations, campaign finance law and legislative redistricting.

Professionally, Mr. Bennett is a Certified Public Accountant and an attorney specializing in tax and business law. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Cleveland Bar Association, the Ohio Bar Association, and the American Society of Attorney-Certified Public Accountants. In addition, he is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants, and the Cleveland Chapter of the Ohio CPA's American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He is the author of several publications on tax law and a guest lecturer to various professional and political organizations on the issues of state and federal tax law and campaign management.

Mr. Bennett has served as a member of the Boards of Trustees and Directors of numerous Ohio business and civic organizations, including University Hospital Case Medical Center Board and Southwest General Health Center of Cleveland, the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections (Chairman) and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati, where he served as chairman of the board.

Mr. Bennett currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio, with his wife, Ruth Ann. They have two adult children. He was born and raised in Columbus, where he graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas High School and received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from the Ohio State University (December 1960).  He earned his Juris Doctor Degree from Cleveland Marshall Law School of Baldwin Wallace College (now Cleveland State University).