Hoped indeed to split power with Republican and Democrat (6)

I believe the answer is:

prayed

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'hoped indeed to split' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.

'power with republican and democrat' is the wordplay.
'power' becomes 'p'.
'with republican' becomes 'raye' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'and' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'democrat' becomes 'd'.
'p'+'raye'+'d'='PRAYED'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for prayed that I've seen before include "Appealed to a deity" , "Supplicated" , "Addressed a deity" , "Spoke to God" , "Addressed God" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.