Elected Republican in Springfield is hard work (8)
I believe the answer is:
industry
'is hard work' is the definition.
(being industrious)
'elected republican in springfield' is the wordplay.
'elected' becomes 'in' (in government).
'republican' becomes 'R' (abbreviation in US politics).
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'springfield' becomes 'Dusty' (as in Dusty Springfield).
'r' going within 'dusty' is 'dustry'.
'in'+'dustry'='INDUSTRY'
(Other definitions for industry that I've seen before include "Craft" , "The manufacture or production of goods" , "Hard work" , "Commercial enterprise, the making of goods, say" , "Branch of trade" .)