House Democrat rising (8)
I believe the answer is:
dwelling
'house' is the definition.
(somewhere people live)
'democrat rising' is the wordplay.
'democrat' becomes 'd'.
'rising' becomes 'welling' (welling is a kind of rising).
'd'+'welling'='DWELLING'
(Other definitions for dwelling that I've seen before include "Habitation" , "Harping" , "Living; abode" , "Living, residing" , "Place of residence" .)