A DEAD brothel owner has won a seat on the Nevada State Assembly – two days after he was laid to rest.
Dennis Hof was found dead at his Love Ranch in Crystal, Nevada on October 16, two days after his 72nd birthday.
His body was discovered by friend and porn star Ron Jeremy at the brothel near Pahrump, reportedly after days of partying.
“Dennis was the Trump of Pahrump in the primary & Moses in the general; he didn’t make it to the promised land with us. But his campaign victory taught three big lessons for Republicans: Don’t raise taxes, don’t be boring and don’t be wishy-washy.” - Chuck Muth, campaign manager
— Friends of Hof (@ElectHof) November 7, 2018
However three weeks after his death and two days after his burial, the self-styled ‘Trump of Pahrump’ won the race for District 36 of the Nevada Assembly.
Primary victory
Hof was the Republican candidate after defeating incumbent Assemblyman James Oscarson in the Republican Primary in June.
He then won the 36th District by a landslide in the safe Republican seat, defeating Democratic candidate Lesia Romanov with 68.3 per cent of the vote.
This was despite (or perhaps because of) posters at voting stations stating Hof had died.
Here's the polling notice in Pahrump today informing voters that GOP Assembly candidate Dennis Hof is deceased but still appears on the ballot. If Hof wins, county commissions from the 3 counties that the district covers will appoint a replacement from the same party #nvleg pic.twitter.com/p8mjPBIwzz
— Riley Snyder (@RileySnyder) November 6, 2018
The timing of Hof’s death meant his name remained on ballot papers and his victory ensures another Republican, to be chosen by county commissioners, will take the seat.
On his campaign website, Hof had stated: “If you want higher taxes and the cradle-to-grave big government socialism, vote for my opponent.
“But if you want to help make Nevada NEVADA again, I’d appreciate your vote on November 6!”
TV Star
Hof owned seven legal brothels in Nevada, where the legality of prostitution is determined on a county-by-county basis.
The Moonlite BunnyRanch perhaps the best known of his brothels, was the subject of a long-running HBO reality series called Cathouse.
He also wrote a book called The Art of the Pimp, a title similar to Donald Trump’s book The Art of the Deal.
Follow his death, an official statement said: “It is with great sadness and tremendous shock to announce that Dennis Hof, 72, passed away sometime this morning (October 16, 2018) in his sleep at the Love Ranch brothel in Crystal, Nevada.
“He was discovered by longtime friend Ron Jeremy – who went to his room to wake him for a scheduled lunch at the Pahrump Senior Center – around 11am.
“No cause of death has been determined. The Clark County coroner will conduct an autopsy.”