Respectful First Lady has tear succeeding Republican (8)
I believe the answer is:
reverent
'respectful' is the definition.
(associated in meaning)
'first lady has tear succeeding republican' is the wordplay.
'first lady' becomes 'eve' (Biblical first woman).
'has' says to put letters next to each other.
'tear' becomes 'rent' (synonyms).
'succeeding' says to put letters next to each other (succeeding can mean going after or following).
'republican' becomes 'R' (abbreviation).
'eve' put next to 'rent' is 'everent'.
'everent' after 'r' is 'REVERENT'.
(Other definitions for reverent that I've seen before include "worshipping" , "humble" , "Deeply respectful" , "Showing profound respect" , "Showing deep respect" .)