Ranks as a new state (8)
I believe the answer is:
arkansas
'state' is the definition.
(Arkansas is an example)
'ranks as a new' is the wordplay.
'new' is an anagram indicator.
'ranks'+'as'+'a'='ranksasa'
'ranksasa' is an anagram of 'ARKANSAS'.
(Other definitions for arkansas that I've seen before include "25th US state" , "State of S. central US" , "American state, capital Little Rock" , "used to be a Land of Opportunity" , "River joining Mississippi" .)