LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Voters in Nevada elected a Republican brothel owner to the Assembly on Tuesday despite the fact that he had died a month ago.
Dennis Hoff received 63 percent of the vote on Election Day, compared to 37 percent for his opponent, Democrat Lesia Romanov. County officials will now appoint a Republican to serve in his place.
As previously reported, Hof was found deceased last month by porn actor Ron Jeremy, who went to wake him in his hotel room to go to a meeting in Pahrump. No foul play is believed to be involved.
Hof had won in the Republican primaries in June, chosen over incumbent assemblyman and hospital executive James Oscarson to face off against Romanov in the general election. He was the author of “The Art of the Pimp” and his Moonlite BunnyRanch brothel was featured in the HBO series “Cathouse.”
Hof was married twice, and claimed to have had sexual relations with 4,000 women. His campaign website warns that although he is a successful businessman, “he’s no choirboy. The rest of his story includes lots of sex, nudity and language that no good Christian woman should ever want to hear.”
“Most brothel owners keep a low profile, offering few interviews and buying only subtle advertising. But Hof had a penchant for splashy billboards and stunts that included helping several women ‘auction’ their virginity,” the Associated Press reports.
Nonetheless, reports around the time of the primaries outlined that some evangelicals said that they were willing to vote for Hof over the current legislator because he, like Donald Trump, was a wealthy businessman and a political outsider. Hof also identified as conservative and supported gun rights, repealing the state’s commerce tax and addressing illegal immigration.
“I’ve been talking to a lot of these Christian evangelical voters and they say they’ve been perfectly happy to overlook the fact that Hof is the state’s biggest brothel keeper because they believe he’s a wealthy businessman and can’t be bought, cannot be corrupted, and will keep his campaign promises,” Reuters correspondent Tim Reid noted.
Hof added that he believed evangelicals were willing to look past his prostitution empire and focus on other aspects, in part, due to the fact that his brothels are legal and are a part of the state’s culture.
“The religious people voted for me because they’re tired of being lied to by politicians that say they’re Christian folks. And they set aside the fact that I have brothels because they are legal businesses in Nevada. It’s part of the culture of Nevada for 150 years,” he said.
“People will set aside for a moment their moral beliefs, their religious beliefs, to get somebody that is honest in office,” Hof told Reuters.
David Whitney, pastor of Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Pasadena, Maryland, told Christian News Network at the time that he found evangelicals’ willingness to vote for a brothel owner deeply concerning. He pointed to Exodus 18:21, which reads, “Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness …”
“I think we ought to vote with the idea that God is going to hold us accountable for that vote that we cast,” he stated. “And so, if we cast a vote for an individual of known immorality, God will hold us accountable for that choice.”
Become a Christian News Network Supporter...
Dear Reader, has ChristianNews.net been of benefit and a blessing to you? For many years now, the Lord has seen fit to use this small news outlet as a strong influential resource in keeping Christians informed on current events from a Biblical worldview. With much compromise and many falsehoods in modern-day Christianity, we strive to bring you the news by keeping Christ and His word in focus. If you have benefited from our news coverage, please prayerfully consider becoming a Christian News supporter by clicking here to make a one-time or monthly donation to help keep the truth of God's word widely and freely published and distributed. May Christ continue to be exalted through this work!
