The major political parties had strong ethnic dimensions by the mid nineteenth century, reaching out to especially Irish and German voters. Tickets in German spoke to acceptance; even more important was running immigrants for office. Germans were a key part of the electorate in pre-Civil War Cincinnati as indicated by this 1861 Democratic ticket for State and Hamilton County officials. The ticket speaks directly to German voters and advances German candidates for several offices.
The ticket includes George H Pendleton running for Congress from Ohio’s First Congressional District based around Cincinnati. Pendleton too had German connections, attending university in Heidelberg. He was victorious in running from this district in 1857, 1859, 1861 and 1863.  He was the vice presidential candidate for General George McLennan in 1864. Best known for his work in the US Senate to create the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883 to professionalize the US Civil Service, he was appointed in 1886 by President Cleveland Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Germany in 1886. He died on his way back to the US.