In what could be described as “historic,” on Tuesday Republicans in Nevada selected a “celebrity pimp” to run for a seat in the state legislature. The pimp, Dennis Hof, is the star of HBO’s reality series “Cathouse,” which revolves around his lucrative brothel business. It is to protect that business that Hof ran for office. And it’s Donald Trump he credits for his decision to run.
“It’s all because Donald Trump was the Christopher Columbus for me,” Hof told AP in a phone interview. “He found the way and I jumped on it.”
In his campaign, Hof has marketed himself as “The Trump of Parhump,” complete with his own Trump-imitating book, “The Art of the Pimp.” Here’s the description of the book, which serves as a mini-bio of Hof:
Dennis Hof, proprietor of the world-famous Moonlite Bunny Ranch brothel and the P.T. Barnum of prostitution, charts his path to fame and infamy, while dispensing homespun wisdom about sex, sales, money, and how to live as the country’s most recognizable pimp. In The Art of the Pimp, Dennis Hof offers a hilarious, insightful, behind-the-scenes look at life as the proprietor of The Moonlight Bunny Ranch, the world’s most famous legal brothel, and recounts his chaotic life as the king of America’s sex industry. Hof, the star of HBO’s critically lauded series Cathouse, reveals the tricks of turning tricks, the secrets of his outrageous marketing stunts, and scandalous details of his friendships with porn stars, prostitutes, and politicians.
It’s that guy who just defeated a three-term Republican lawmaker and will now face off against Democrat Lesia Romanov in November. Hof is favored to win.
His primary goal for running is the defense of his business, as AP underscores:
Voters in November will decide on closing down brothels in at least one of the seven Nevada counties where they legally operate. The question will be on the ballot in Lyon County, where Hof owns four brothels. Activists are also gathering signatures to try to get a measure on the ballot in Nye County, where Hof owns two more brothels in the desert outside the city of Pahrump.
Hof previously lost to incumbent James Oscarson when the brothel owner ran as an Independent. Hof says he plans to sell off some of his brothels in the future to better focus on his political career.
While Hof isn’t actually the first brothel owner to be elected to a political position in the state (Mustang Ranch owner Lance Gilman is a Storey County Commissioner), he is the first official pimp to be elected to the state legislature.