COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - A new generation of leaders is about to take the helm of the Ohio Republican Party. Bob Bennett, the 69-year-old chairman of the state party, will turn control of the party to 40-year-old Deputy Chairman Kevin DeWine in January. Eighty-three-year-old Congressman Ralph Regula
and 71-year-old counterpart Ralph Regula are stepping down as well.
Professor John Green of the University of Akron says it's natural to see a changing of the guard at the end of an 8-year-old Republican administration in Washington. He says that change is often accelerated when the party is in trouble.
The Ohio GOP's future depends on rising young officials such as House Speaker Jon Husted, who was only 37 when he became speaker, and state Auditor Mary Taylor. -- Information from: Dayton Daily News,