UPDATE: In a statement to ThinkProgress on Monday, Rep. Joe Crowley’s (D-NY) staff denied that the outgoing congressman was involved in the effort to undermine Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA).

“Joe Crowley respects both Barbara Lee and Hakeem Jeffries and played no role in the race for caucus chair,” said Lauren French, the New York Democrat’s communications director. “Stories that he was whipping votes for either candidate are false and inaccurate.”

“Women of color, as a voting bloc, are the backbone of the Democratic Party and we’re really leading the way with these issues, and we’ve shown that we can get behind candidates of different genders and different races and really affect an election,” Allison said. “But now we’re demanding way more from the candidates. They need to speak directly to us, and anything short just isn’t going to cut it.”

The survey from She the People questioned 264 women of color across the country. Of the people surveyed, 50% of the women identified as black, 40% as Latinx, 16% as Asian, and 5% as Native American. The survey was conducted from Nov. 29, 2018, through Dec. 13, 2018.

“Women of color, as a voting bloc, are the backbone of the Democratic Party and we’re really leading the way with these issues, and we’ve shown that we can get behind candidates of different genders and different races and really affect an election,” Allison said. “But now we’re demanding way more from the candidates. They need to speak directly to us, and anything short just isn’t going to cut it.”

The survey from She the People questioned 264 women of color across the country. Of the people surveyed, 50% of the women identified as black, 40% as Latinx, 16% as Asian, and 5% as Native American. The survey was conducted from Nov. 29, 2018, through Dec. 13, 2018.