Crossword Genius

Stink raised when US republicans take North (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

pong

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'stink' is the definition.
(I know that pong is a type of stink)

'raised when us republicans take north' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'when' could be 'on' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'on' is found in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for pong that I've seen before include "Nasty smell (informal)" , "Niff" , "Bad smell" , "Horrid smell (informal)" , "Stench" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.
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