The Red State? (7)
I believe the answer is:
arrears
'the red state?' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'red state?' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'red' could be 'r' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'r' is located in the answer.
'state?' could be 'area' (area is a kind of state) and 'area' is found within the leftover letters.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for arrears that I've seen before include "State of being behind with payments" , "Money still owed" , "In these, one is behind with payments" , "Overdue debt" , "Amount needed to be paid back" .)