A prominent Black voting rights activist says there are 'saboteurs' within the Democratic Party who don't want Kamala Harris to succeed, arguing they are worried about her 'outshining' Biden

• Kamala Harris' tenure as vice president has been marked by a series of high-profile ups and downs.
• Voting rights activist LaTosha Brown told The New York Times Magazine she feels some Democrats have undermined the VP.

When Kamala Harris catapulted into national prominence as a US senator representing California, many political observers compared her to former President Barack Obama.

Both have been trailblazing Black politicians, as Obama occupied the Oval Office for eight years, while Harris was tapped by Joe Biden to be his vice presidential running mate — with the ticket's 2020 victory making her the first female vice president in US history.

But Harris has endured a series of ups and downs after nearly three years in the role, initially dealing with high-profile staff turnover and later battling a sense from many in Washington that was struggling to carve out a policy lane that voters could respond to.

Such talk has been rejected by some of Harris' most ardent supporters like LaTosha Brown, a founder of Black Votes Matter, who told The New York Times Magazine that she believed some Democrats — including some in the White House — are looking to hold Harris back.

"I think there have been saboteurs within the administration," Brown told The Times' Astead W. Herndon. "I think that they are worried about the age contrast. And they are worried about Kamala outshining Biden."

Over the past year, Harris has been perhaps the administration's most forceful advocate for abortion rights, rallying women across the country after the Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v. Wade. The vice president has also been an in-demand speaker among college students — especially at historically Black colleges and universities.

Biden has repeatedly praised Harris' policy acumen and the strengths that he said she has brought to the administration, telling MSNBC earlier this year that she "hasn't gotten the credit that she deserves."

And when Biden rolled out his reelection announcement, she was front and center as he detailed why the ticket deserved to be reelected.

But still, there have been questions about Harris' viability as a future presidential contender and the potential face of the Democratic Party, especially as the party's post-Biden 2028 primary is likely to attract a slew of candidates.

Brown — whose organization played a role in Georgia voter organizing efforts ahead of Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff victories in the state's January 2021 runoff elections — initially backed Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts over Harris in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary.

But Brown told the magazine that she believed she had underestimated Harris at the time and later decided to fight hard for her selection as Biden's running mate.

And Brown rejected the notion that Biden's vow to select a female running mate — and the push for to him to tap a Black woman — created a situation where some would discount Harris' abilities.

Harris' 2021 interview with NBC News anchor Lester Holt — where she was questioned about her lack of on-the-ground time at the US-Mexico border and criticized over her response — remains on the minds of some voters who may be still be unsure of the vice president's main policy focus.

But the administration has been unwavering in their support of Harris, with White House senior advisor Anita Dunn telling the magazine that the vice president had some earlier stumbles but "has found her voice, and she's found her role."

Dunn also shut down any rumors that Harris might be replaced as Biden's running mate next year.

"This administration has never polled it," Dunn told the magazine. "Never thought about it. Never discussed it."