Nevada brothel owner Dennis Hof passed away in his sleep a few weeks ago, but that didn't stop him from overwhelmingly winning a seat in the state legislature.
Hof was found deceased by porn star and longtime friend Ron Jeremy on Oct. 16, after a weekend of partying to celebrate his 72nd birthday.
At the time of his death, Hof was the Republican candidate for Nevada's Assembly District 36. He remained on the ballot in accordance with state law, and won the race against Democrat Lesia Romanov on Tuesday with an estimated 63 percent of the vote, according to The Huffington Post.
District 36 is a GOP stronghold, but not all Nevada Republicans were happy when Hof won the primary four months ago.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Hof's candidacy was denounced by Sen. Dean Heller (R), Gov. Brian Sandoval (R), Attorney General Adam Laxalt (R) and the Assembly Republican Caucus.
University of Nevada political science professor Eric Herzik told the Review-Journal that while it sounds terrible, "by dying, [Hof] solved an embarrassing situation for Republicans in the Legislature," given that some GOP lawmakers had threatened to not caucus with Hof if he were elected.
"It's all moot now," Herzik added.
The vacant District 36 seat will be filled by a Republican appointee selected by a panel of commissioners from Clark, Lincoln and Nye counties.
Despite the reluctance of some Nevada Republican lawmakers, Hof enjoyed the endorsement of several key national GOP figures.
The night before he died, the self-branded "Trump of Pahrump" partied with Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Americans for Tax Reform founder Grover Norquist, and received a congratulatory call from Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson.
Hof owned a handful of legal brothels, including the infamous Moonlite Bunny Ranch, which was featured in HBO's Cathouse series.
In the wake of Hof's passing, competing brothel owner Lance Gilman — who owns the Mustang Ranch — extended his sympathies in a written release published by the Reno Gazette Journal.
"It is with great sadness we received the news of the passing of Dennis Hof," the statement read. "We send our deepest condolences to his friends and those who work for him. They will be foremost in all our thoughts and prayers here at the Mustang Ranch."
