Russian female revolutionary in American election (5)
I believe the answer is:
elena
'russian female' is the definition.
(common woman's name in Russia)
'revolutionary in american election' is the wordplay.
'revolutionary' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'in' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue.
'anele' is hidden within 'american election'.
'anele' in reverse letter order is 'ELENA'.
(Other definitions for elena that I've seen before include "Girl's name" , "Spanish girl" .)