Podcast: Extended version of Mississippi Today’s political team talking about the 2025 Congress.

Jeff serves as politics and government editor and works closely with Mississippi Today leadership on editorial strategy and research. Pender joined the Mississippi Today team in 2020, bringing 30 years of political and government reporting experience to the newsroom.

Previously, Mr. Pender was the politics and research editor at the Clarion-Ledger, where he also wrote a popular political column. While at the Clarion Ledger, Pender helped lead the traditional publication’s digital transformation while overseeing the surveillance news team and government coverage. He previously served as an investigative reporter and political editor at the Sun Herald and was a member of the team that won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of Hurricane Katrina. A native of Florence, Mississippi, Pender is a University of Southern Mississippi journalism graduate who has received numerous awards throughout his career for his press, columns, and freedom of information work.

Jeff Pender Other Works

Simeon Gates is a general assignment reporting intern at Mississippi Today. She previously worked at Southern Miss Student Media and attended the University of Southern Mississippi. As a student journalist, she won several awards, including first place in the “Best Use of Video” category in the collegiate division of the Mississippi Press Association’s 2024 Better Newspaper Contest. Simeon is interested in political reporting and local government.

Other works by Simeon Gates

Mr. Taylor is from Grenada and is in charge of the state government and statewide elections. He is a graduate of the University of Mississippi and Holmes Community College. Before joining Mississippi Today, Taylor reported on state and local government for the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, where he won awards for his coverage of federal lawsuits against the state’s mental health system.

Taylor Vance Other Works