Crossword Genius

One party has a grip on my part of America (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

idaho

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

'my part of america' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'one party has a grip' is the wordplay.
'one' becomes 'i' (Roman numeral).
'party' becomes 'do' (do is a kind of party).
'has' is an insertion indicator.
'a grip' becomes 'ah' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'do' placed around 'ah' is 'daho'.
'i'+'daho'='IDAHO'

'on' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for idaho that I've seen before include "US state, capital Boise" , "O, I had a change in this state" , "US state S. of Montana" , "North-western US state" , "My Own Private -- (1991 film)" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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