Mr. Gilman is one of a new breed of brothel owners in Nevada, newcomers who made their fortunes in other industries and who are not afraid of publicity. He is believed to be the first brothel owner to be elected to public office in the state, and his run made some in the legal sex industry nervous.

George Flint, a lobbyist for the Nevada Brothel Owners Association, said: “I’m of the old school, I believe the best way to survive in this business is to stay low profile. These new guys come in and assume that with legality comes acceptability, they don’t have an understanding of the industry’s fragileness.”

Still, licensed brothels like the Mustang Ranch enjoy wide support across rural Nevada. More than half those surveyed in a statewide poll in 2011 said they thought prostitution should be legal.

“You can’t hold it against a person that they’re involved in a profession that’s been in existence since before Jesus walked around in his sandals,” said Corrie Northan, 46, a bartender at the Bucket of Blood Saloon in Virginia City, the county seat. “This state was formed from gambling, drinking and brothels and there’s no shame in that.”

During his campaign, Mr. Gilman knocked on the doors of some 1,500 county residents, and he says just two people even mentioned his brothel and only to compliment him.

Prostitution has been a mainstay in Storey County since the discovery of silver ore here in 1859. Men arrived from all over the country, and by 1860 women made up just 5 percent of the city’s population.