Annoyed born Democrat was ahead of things (7)
I believe the answer is:
needled
'annoyed' is the definition.
(needle can mean to annoy or irritate)
'born democrat was ahead of things' is the wordplay.
'born' becomes 'nee' ('nee' is 'born' in French).
'democrat' becomes 'd'.
'was ahead of things' becomes 'led' (to lead is to be ahead).
'nee'+'d'+'led'='NEEDLED'
(Other definitions for needled that I've seen before include "got angry" , "Irritated (sl.)" , "Goaded or provoked" , "bugged" , "Provoked with sewing implement" .)