FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 7, 2016
Contact: Richard Hunter
(817) 300-2555 or [email protected]
(Amargosa Valley, Nevada) – Dennis Hof – successful businessman, star of an HBO reality TV series and 2016 Libertarian Party candidate for the Nevada State Assembly – announced today he was changing his party affiliation and re-registering as a Republican.
“I learned a lot of lessons during my first run for office this year,” Hof said. “And one of the biggest lessons is that politics is somewhat like professional baseball – you have the American League, the National League and the minor leagues. The Libertarians just aren’t yet in the political major leagues.”
Hof pulled almost 40 percent of the vote against well-funded, incumbent Republican Assemblyman James Oscarson last month – an extraordinary performance for a Libertarian candidate, especially considering the Democrat who ran against the same incumbent four years ago pulled only 35 percent.
Hof is considering making another run for the Assembly District 36 seat in 2018.
“The only way to make a difference as an elected official is to first get elected,” Hof continued. “And for better or worse, the reality is if you want to get elected to public office today, you need to be either a Democrat or a Republican. Minor party candidates have almost no chance.
“Without a doubt, had I run this year as a Republican, I would have won in the GOP primary last June,” Hof continued. “If I run again, I’ll run as a Republican. And I’ll finish the job of ousting our tax-hiking/vote-selling incumbent assemblyman.”
Hof said the election of Donald Trump, with the support of many social conservatives, made his decision to switch parties much easier.
“I’m still libertarian-leaning in my philosophy and will focus more on fiscally conservative issues,” Hof said. “But as long as one has respect for the views and interests of more socially conservative voters, and as long as we keep an open line of communication and work to find common ground, it can be a win-win electoral situation for everybody.”
Hof said he’s in the process of updating his campaign website, ElectHof.com, and will be keeping it live during the upcoming legislative session, with regular updates and blog posts.
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