The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word IOWAN
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
I
O
W
A
N
More clues leading to the result IOWAN
- American, I love pasty
- Here Ryde is an American
- Midwestern clan half-cut on island
- Have short article in current New Statesman
- 10 to 1 broadcast for statesman
- Faint on moon, one in a state?
- Article written by Channel island statesman?
- I have written about area’s statesman
- Des Moines native maybe pale, under ten?
- Resident of mid-western American state has ten Washington newspapers at first
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "one in a state" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case one in a state = iowan.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.