NEVADA, June 14, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – Dennis Hof has been dubbed “Nevada’s most famous pimp” for owning a brothel business worth $50 million that’s the subject of the HBO series “Cathouse.” He is also now a Republican nominee for the state legislature.
On Tuesday, Hof defeated hospital executive and three-term incumbent Assemblyman James Oscarson, the Associated Press reports. He will go on to compete against Democrat Lesia Romanov in November. The district is Republican territory, though it remains to be seen how his background will factor into voters’ judgment.
Hof ’s promotional gambits ranging from “auctioning off actual virgins, to running 'Get Your Grandpa Laid' contests on the Howard Stern show,” states a write-up of Hof on his website that showcases his “sexual empire.” Hof owns seven licensed brothels throughout the state of Nevada.
This is not the first time Hof and Oscarson faced each other; the incumbent won by a comfortable margin in 2012, when Hof ran as a Libertarian. But running as a Republican — and aggressively claiming political kinship with President Donald Trump — reversed Hof’s fortunes this time around.
“It's all because Donald Trump was the Christopher Columbus for me,” Hof told the AP. “He found the way and I jumped on it.” He has even taken to calling himself the “Trump of Pahrump,” framing himself as a champion of limited government against the entrenched establishments of both parties.
Hof has also taken some socially-conservative positions, despite his profession, such as opposing Common Core and stating he “couldn’t imagine taking the life of our unborn child.”
However, Hof also offered to host and perform same-sex “weddings” at his Bunny Ranch in 2015, and prostitutes at the ranch formed a “Hookers 4 Hillary” group in 2016, with some even offering a “free hour” to clients who donated to Democrat Hillary Clinton’s campaign to defeat Trump. Hof claims he did not encourage their efforts, and merely supported his workers’ choices to get involved on either side of the election.
State GOP leaders, including US Sen. Dean Heller, outgoing Gov. Brian Sandoval, Attorney General and gubernatorial nominee Adam Laxalt, and attorney general nominee Wes Duncan, have largely disavowed Hof’s campaign and said they won’t support him in the general election.
Assembly Republican Caucus executive director Eric Roberts said he was “deeply disappointed” by the victory of an avowed pimp.
However, Hof enjoys the support of ex-state legislature and Second Amendment activist Michelle Fiore, and while state party chair Michael McDonald didn’t explicitly endorse his candidacy, he said, “We welcome fiscal conservatives such as Mr. Hof who want to join our party.”
His campaign also got a national boost from former Trump adviser Roger Stone and anti-tax activist Grover Norquist.
Voter Jim Raubolt, a 55-year-old electrician, told the AP he supported Joseph Bradley, a third Republican candidate, in the primary out of distaste for both Hof and Oscarson, but would pull the lever for Hof in the general to keep a Democrat “knucklehead” out of office. Having to choose between moderate insiders and controversial outsiders has been a recurring complaint among conservative voters in the past several elections.
Lyon County, Nevada is one of the only places in the United States where prostitution is legal, though the November elections will also hold a ballot initiative on whether to ban brothels.
“Going from pimp to the state legislature just seems like progress on the learning curve if you ask me,” conservative blogger Steven Hayward quipped, an allusion to the old joke about politics being the world’s second oldest profession.