A campaign to end legal sex work in Nevada has spiralled into a war of words between a state assembly member and his challenger – a prominent local brothel owner.

Religious groups and anti-sex trafficking activists are campaigning to reverse ordinances that allow for legal prostitution and brothels within two Nevada counties. Sex work has been legal in certain counties for decades, and has become a backbone of the tourism industry for many. But activists say this has all been at the expense of women.

“I work with the women who are coming out of the legal brothels seeking help after they have been raped, strangled, abused, trafficked, and more,” said Kimberly Mull, a sex trafficking survivor and co-founder of the No Little Girl campaign to end legalised prostitution in Nevada.

“The brothels claim that they are safe environments, however, this is not true,” she said via email. “It may be ‘safer’ than street prostitution, but the stories we continue to hear from survivors is horrifying.”

Lyon County commissioners have already put a referendum banning brothels on the ballot for November, and organisers are collecting signatures to get one on the ballot in Nye County as well. If the measures pass in both counties, they could shut down nearly half of the state’s estimated 20 brothels.

Sex worker explains why she does her job: 'It’s my choice’

That does not sit well with Dennis Hof, a brothel owner and Republican candidate for the state legislature who describes himself as the “Donald Trump of Pahrump” – a reference to his hometown in Nye County. Mr Hof owns half a dozens brothels between the two counties, including one that formed the basis of HBO reality show “Cathouse”.

Mr Hof is challenging incumbent state legislator James Oscarson in Tuesday’s Republican primary. He claims that anti-prostitution activists colluded with his opponent and launched their campaign in an effort to distract him from the race.

In an interview with The Independent, Mr Hof pointed out the similarities between himself and Mr Trump: They are both reality stars, both authors, both “kind of rich,” and both “love hot girls”. And both, he added, are subject to unfair attacks from their political opponents.

“This is the dirtiest campaign in America,” Mr Hof said. “I am fighting the establishment, and it’s a dirty fight.”

Mr Oscarson, he added, is “a political prostitute – He’ll do whatever the donors tell him.”

International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers - in pictures Show all 11 1 /11 International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers - in pictures International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers - in pictures People carrying red umbrellas march through downtown Skopje, Macedonia, marking the International Day to End Violence Over Sex Workers. The banner reads: The Stigma Kills. AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers - in pictures Women participate in a march through a street in Skopje. AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers - in pictures People shout slogans and hold a banner during a march to support sex workers rights. AFP / Robert ATANASOVSKIROBERT ATANASOVSKI/AFP/Getty Images International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers - in pictures Sex workers demonstrate to call for the end of the violence perpetrated against them and punishment for culprits in Skopje. AFP / Robert ATANASOVSKIROBERT ATANASOVSKI/AFP/Getty Images International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers - in pictures A woman with 'sex worker' written on her thighs takes part in the march. AFP / Robert ATANASOVSKIROBERT ATANASOVSKI/AFP/Getty Images International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers - in pictures Activists of the Kenyan Sex Workers Alliance chant slogans during a demonstration in Nairobi on December. AFP / JOHN MUCHUCHAJOHN MUCHUCHA/AFP/Getty Images International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers - in pictures Kenyan male and female sex workers walk with their supporters and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community to mark the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. EPA/DAI KUROKAWA International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers - in pictures Hundreds of sex workers gathered to demand decriminalisation of sex workers in the country and to give them more rights and protection. EPA/DAI KUROKAWA International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers - in pictures Female sex workers blow up condoms as they walk with supporters and members of the LGBT community. EPA/DAI KUROKAWA International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers - in pictures A Kenyan sex worker plays with inflated condoms during the march. EPA/DAI KUROKAWA International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers - in pictures Protesters hold red umbrellas symbolising the protection of sex workers. AP Photo/Sayyid Azim

Both Mr Oscarson and the No Little Girl campaign have denied ever working together. Mr Oscarson told The Independent that his opponent's inflammatory statements about collusion and political prostitution were “typical” of his campaign style. He expressed regret that Nevada voters were “subjected” to such behaviour, before calling back to point out that Mr Hof had recently donated $100,000 to his own campaign.

“If I’m going to be called a political prostitute, the way he’s paid for this election is off the back of prostitutes,” Mr Oscarson said.

The actual Nevada sex workers, meanwhile, have expressed concern that the brothels could be shut down. Nevada counties with 700,000 residents or fewer have been able to legalise prostitution since 1971, and some in the industry say it’s made sex work both safer and more profitable for women.

Christina Parreira, a University of Nevada Las Vegas graduate student and sex worker at one of Mr Hof’s establishments, said she generally feels safe working at the licensed brothel. She bristled at the No Little Girl campaign’s use of the #MeToo movement against sexual assault and harassment to promote their cause.

"The #MeToo movement is about sexual assault, sexual misconduct and rape – not things that happen in brothels," she told the Los Angeles Times. "But to a person who doesn't know about brothels, it may seem that way. I'm not saying brothels are perfect, but this is a licensed business that puts safety first."

Alice Little, a sex worker at Mr Hof's Bunny Ranch, said she had chosen her line of work freely, and didn't need "saving" from anti-brothel campaigners.

"We're not asking for their help," she told The Independent. "How can they say that they’re advocating for us and they’re experts when they've never set foot inside a single brothel?"

Mr Hof and his clients have previously faced allegations of misconduct. A sex worker at Mr Hof's Moonlite Bunny Ranch in Lyon County accused Motley Crue frontman Vince Neil of grabbing her by the neck, pushing her against a window sill, and pulling her to the floor during a visit in 2003. Mr Neil pleaded no contest to a battery charge. Mr Hof told the Associated Press he believed the woman made the claims up.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal recently reported on two accusations against Mr Hof by former sex workers. They accused the brothel owner of sexual assault several years ago, but prosecutors declined to press charges because the statute of limitations had expired. Mr Hof denies the allegations.

The anti-prostitution campaigners have until 15 June to collect enough signatures to get a brothel ban on the Nye County ballot in November. They need 1,900 signatures to qualify, and Ms Mull said they were nearly there. The idea is to start a domino effect, so that similar reforms spring up in other countries, and eventually across the state.

But previous efforts to outlaw prostitution in Nevada – such as a similar, proposed referendum in Churchill County in 2004 – have failed to pass. Mr Hof, for one, thinks this effort will be unsuccessful as well.