Jen Psaki, a CNN political commentator, was the White House communications director and State Department spokeswoman during the Obama administration. She is vice president of communications and strategy at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Follow her at @jrpsaki. The opinions expressed in this commentary are hers.

(CNN) There is nothing like a political upset to energize the party out of power.

And Tuesday night's election was a whopper of an upset -- a huge energizer for not just the Democratic Party, but also for women who have been victims of sexual assault.

Jen Psaki

Yes, Roy Moore was a deeply flawed candidate long before he was accused of sexual abuse, allegations he denies. But Alabama is a deep red state that has not elected a Democrat since 1992, and that Democrat, Richard Shelby, became a Republican just two years later.

Doug Jones ran a smart, Alabama-focused campaign, and stayed out of the national spotlight. He smartly focused on African-American turnout in the closing weeks and it worked.

As special elections go, this is an earthquake that will have repercussions far into 2018.

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