CLEVELAND - The Republican chairman of the embattled Cuyahoga County elections board resigned Wednesday, days before he was to face a removal hearing.

Ohio Republican Party leader Robert Bennett has been under pressure from Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to step down. Brunner, a Democrat, ordered the board’s members to resign or be fired last month. A removal hearing for Bennett was set for Monday.

“I recognize that continuing to serve on the board with the current adverse relationship with the Secretary of State was not in the public interest and she came to understand that, while there had been problems in the past, there was no wrongdoing by the board,” Bennett said in a statement.

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