Reginald gets some backing from the state (5)
I believe the answer is:
niger
'the state' is the definition.
(Niger is an example)
'reginald gets some backing' is the wordplay.
'reginald' becomes 'Reg' (short for Reginald).
'gets some' becomes 'in' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'backing' is a reversal indicator.
'reg'+'in'='regin'
'regin' reversed gives 'NIGER'.
'from' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for niger that I've seen before include "Country in interior of N Africa, capital Niarney" , "W. African country" , "River, Africa's largest delta" , "Country W. of Chad" , "West African country, capital Niamey" .)