Pimp wins Nevada legislative race after death

LAS VEGAS—Nevada brothel owner and reality TV star Dennis Hof died last month but still won a heavily GOP state legislative district after fashioning himself as a Donald Trump-style Republican candidate.

County officials will appoint a Republican to take Hof’s place in the state Assembly. He was found dead Oct. 16 after a weekend of parties celebrating his 72nd birthday. Officials are still determining his cause of death, but they don’t suspect foul play.

He beat Democratic educator Lesia Romanov for Nevada’s 36th Assembly District, which includes rural communities and large stretches of desert in the southern part of the state.

Hof owned a handful of brothels in Nevada, the only state that allows them to legally operate. He starred in the HBO adult reality series “Cathouse” and wrote a book titled “The Art of the Pimp,” akin to Trump’s book “The Art of the Deal.”

Porn actor Ron Jeremy and a prostitute discovered Hof dead at Hof’s Love Ranch brothel about an hour outside Las Vegas. He had spent the four previous days partying with notables from the sex industry and political world. The brothel is where NBA player Lamar Odom was found unconscious in 2015.

About 20 brothels operate in Nevada, mostly in rural areas. They are banned in the counties that contain Las Vegas and Reno.