Dennis Hof remains on November ballot
Nevada legal brothel owner and Assembly candidate for District 36 Dennis Hof, who shook the political stage in Nye County and potentially across the state and nation, some might argue, with his win during the 2018 primaries, died Tuesday.
Hof’s battle to be victorious in the general election, however, will not cease.
Hof, who was 72 at the time of his death, will remain on the November ballot with the potential for him to be elected. Should that occur, the vacancy will need to be filled.
Under state law, the county commissions of three counties that sit, partially or fully, in District 36, would work to appoint another Republican to the seat, Nye, Clark and Lincoln counties, through a process laid out in the state statute, according to information from the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office sent to a reporter from the Pahrump Valley Times.
Nevada law also prescribes that signs be posted at polling locations where Hof is on the ballot, to notify voters of his death on Election Day, Nov. 6. Ballots for the general election have already been printed. Early voting starts Saturday, Oct. 20.
Democratic candidate Lesia Romanov, who is also on the ballot for District 36, was “stunned” by the news, according to a report in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
“This is not anything that I would have ever guessed would happen,” Romanov said in a Tuesday report in the Review-Journal. “My heart goes out to those who care about him. Just a crazy turn of events. Wow. All I can say is wow.”
Speculation on who might take Hof’s spot has been circulating since the announcement of his death.
The Times reached out to Assemblyman James Oscarson, who currently holds the seat in District 36, but he did not return phone calls to the publication on Tuesday. Hof defeated Oscarson in the June primary.
Oscarson did speak with the Times’ affiliate publication, the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
“Our thoughts go out to his family and his friends,” Oscarson said Tuesday, adding that it’s too soon to speculate about the future of the Assembly seat, the Review-Journal report stated. “I think it’s very premature to even think or talk about that. People need to have a chance to grieve and mourn.”
Contact reporter Jeffrey Meehan at jmeehan@pvtimes.com
