The subsequent election in Sheffield was a long and bitterly-fought contest. Mundella suffered much abuse. There were attacks on his Italian ancestry; though he was not Jewish he was lampooned by antisemitic cartoonists because of his looks; his morality in business or, as his opponents argued his lack of it, was questioned. But bringing enormous energy to his fight to be elected, and benefitting hugely from the Reform Act of 1867 which had enfranchised a large number of male householders for the first time, Mundella prevailed in Sheffield. He was to represent the seat, and its successor, Sheffield Brightside, until his death nearly thirty years later.