RENO, NV — Presidential candidate and Texas Congressman Ron Paul may be running for the Republican nod, but he’s always seemed more closely aligned with a libertarian philosophy. Maybe that’s why a Nevada brothel owner has endorsed his candidacy.The news broke Sunday, and hardly any television talking head or print pundit could avoid snickering as he or she reported that Moonlight Bunny Ranch owner Dennis Hof has vowed to raise funds for Paul’s underdog campaign.

“I’ll get all the bunnies together, and we can raise him some money,” Hof told the Reno Gazette-Journal after a Paul campaign stop in the gambling Mecca. “I’ll put up a collection box outside the door. They can drop in $1, $5 contributions.”

Hof and two of the ranch’s working girls attended a Paul press conference over the weekend and admitted being impressed by what they heard – even though Paul is a devout Christian who opposes abortion. In Hof’s mind, however, Paul’s religious viewpoint is balanced by the candidate’s ardent support of states’ rights and strict constitutional interpretation.

“On a personal basis, [Paul] doesn’t condone [prostitution],” Paul spokesman Jeff Greenspan told KABC-TV, the Los Angeles ABC affiliate. “At the same time, from his campaign perspective, it’s not the role of federal government and it’s not in the Constitution for the federal government to regulate these things. The Nevada voters and legislature have decided it is legal activity in [Nevada].”

Brothels have been legal in all but five of Nevada’s 17 counties since 1971.

Hof attended the Paul press conference at the invitation of MSNBC’s Tucker Carlson, who told KABC-TV, “Dennis Hof is a good friend of mine” without further elaboration.