Pelican State, a southern US state (9)
I believe the answer is:
louisiana
I believe this clue is a double definition.
'pelican state' is the first definition.
(synonyms)
'a southern us state' is the second definition.
(I've seen this before)
(Other definitions for louisiana that I've seen before include "IOU a snail over in the US state" , "Southern United State on the Gulf of Mexico" , "that's near Mississippi" , "US state, capital Baton Rouge" , "American state, capital Baton Rouge" .)