Republican in seemingly unpopulated county? (7)
I believe the answer is:
norfolk
'county?' is the definition.
(English county)
I can't explain the remainder of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for norfolk that I've seen before include "Eastern county" , "Very flat county" , "Norwich's county" , "It has much farmland" , "County of Norwich and Sandringham" .)