New Tab , opens new tab. Ecuadorean police said on Thursday 49 kidnapping victims were rescued from the Los Lobos crime gang in a mining region of the southern Azuay province. Skip to main content. Exclusive news, data and analytics for financial market professionals Learn more about Refinitiv. Reuters - He styles himself as America's best-known pimp, a strip-club owner who runs multiple brothels and looks set to win a seat as a Republican in the Nevada legislature with the blessing of many conservative Christian voters.
Meet Dennis Hof, whose political rise reflects fundamental changes in electoral norms that have roiled the Republican Party and upended American politics during the era of President Donald Trump. When news broke that Hof had won the nominating contest for a state Assembly seat on June 12, evangelical pastor Victor Fuentes said he closed his eyes and prayed. He said the reason was simple. But by their decisions, they have evil in their heart. Dennis Hof is not like that.
The pastor said he felt Hof would protect religious rights, among other things. In Hof's Republican-leaning district, seven evangelicals said they voted for him because they believed that he, who like Trump is a wealthy businessman and political outsider, would also clean up politics and not be beholden to special-interest groups and their money.
The source of Hof's wealth - he owns a strip club and five legal brothels - did not deter his supporters. Nor did the allegations by several women that Hof sexually abused them. Hof denied the accusations, including a former sex worker's claim that he raped and choked her several years ago, and the voters interviewed by Reuters dismissed them as lies.
Hof was reluctant to discuss his own Christian faith. For decades, evangelical voters have been a pillar of the Republican Party in the United States, using grassroots muscle to turn out votes and engage in political battles over hot-button social issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage. June 16, Picture taken June 16, Chevron Chevron. But in recent years, many conservative Christians have lost trust in establishment Republicans, whom they accuse of not fighting for values they feel are under attack in modern America.
