On Tuesday night brothel owner Dennis Hof won a seat in the Nevada senate, but he will not be taking up that seat.

Hof died last month aged 72, but remained on the ballot and won his seat in a heavily Republican district.

Hof, who described himself as the “Barnum of Booty” and “America’s pimpmaster general” owned a number of brothels in northern Nevada. He became a minor celebrity after an HBO reality show, Cathouse, focused on his exploits in the sex industry.

His senate seat wasn’t his only posthumous electoral win last night. In an advisory ballot-measure, voters in Lyon county supported continued legal prostitution. There are four brothels in the county, all of which are owned by Hof’s estate.

In 2015, he released his memoir, The Art of the Pimp, detailing the time Fox News host Tucker Carlson sent him a gift of “a beautiful cane made entirely out of a bull’s penis”.

Hof maintained his businesses were legitimate but he was followed by scandal and accusations of brutal sexual assault. One woman who worked for Hof, Jennifer O’Kane, said he raped her multiple times leaving lasting physical damage to her body. In 2015 Lamar Odom, the NBA player engaged at the time to Khloe Kardashian, overdosed at one of his brothels.

Here's the polling notice in Pahrump today informing voters that GOP Assembly candidate Dennis Hof is deceased but still appears on the ballot. If Hof wins, county commissions from the 3 counties that the district covers will appoint a replacement from the same party #nvleg pic.twitter.com/p8mjPBIwzz — Riley Snyder (@RileySnyder) November 6, 2018

Hof died last month after a weekend of celebrations for his 72nd birthday. His body was buried on Monday. On Tuesday he won his senate seat with almost 70% of the vote. County officials will now appoint a Republican to take Hof’s place in the state assembly for the entire term. There won’t be a special election.

The most likely candidate for the seat is Hof’s primary opponent and the seat’s incumbent, James Oscarson. Hof attacked Oscarson in the primary calling him a Republican in name only.

