There were big wins and devastating losses during Tuesday’s election, and then there was Nevada, where a legislative seat was won by a dead candidate who owned several brothels.
The late candidate was Dennis Hof, who was found dead on Oct. 16 after “a weekend of parties celebrating his 72nd birthday,” according to the Associated Press. Hof owned a handful of brothels, which are legal in Nevada, and was also a reality TV star. Despite his death, and the fact that he was a pimp, Hof still defeated Democratic candidate Lesia Romanov in the 36th Assembly District.
The district is heavily Republican territory, covering a swath of desert and rural communities. Snowballing off the fame from his businesses and his role on the HBO adult reality series Cathouse, Hof gained political notoriety by aligning himself with Donald Trump. He even wrote a book titled “The Art of the Pimp,” so basically he’s Trump if Trump ran strip clubs instead of hotels.
Hof’s body was discovered at his Love Ranch outside Vegas by porn actor Ron Jeremy and a prostitute, according to AP. He had spent the four days leading up to his death partying (instead of, you know, campaigning or something?).
In this dystopian world, voters chose a dead man over a fully alive candidate, which should raise questions about the state of our democracy, but also about who is actually going to represent the 36th district in Nevada. In Hof’s absence, county officials are going to appoint a Republican to take his place in the State Assembly seat.
