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 solely those of the author.

(CNN) Full disclosure: I not only worked for Democrat Joe Crowley as his press secretary back in 2005, but my mom grew up in his district in Woodside, Queens. And his defeat in New York's 14th Congressional District primary means the departure of a great human being from the halls of Congress.

But his loss wasn't as surprising as the sweeping conclusions drawn from it. Yes, elections can be telling. But sometimes the wrong conclusions are drawn.

First, what did his defeat confirm?

1. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who bested Crowley, is young and compelling and she ran a great, authentic closing ad.

2. The Democratic Party is divided between moderates and the more liberal wing of the party. Both wings think their strategy is the winning strategy -- a fact we have known since Bernie Sanders almost took out Hillary Clinton in the 2016 primary.

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3. Joe Crowley's district has been growing more diverse and acquiring a more progressive "lean" since long before Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders were in the national spotlight. This is a fact that those who have lived or worked in his district know well.

4. Change is still a winning message.

But here is what the analysis is getting wrong:

1. NY-14 is not a microcosm of the country. It is one of the most liberal districts in a bright blue state. Bernie Sanders won almost half the vote in the 2016 primary -- in Hillary Clinton's home state. The primary was two months earlier than it typically is in New York and the overall turnout was not even 25,000 people.

2. All white men are not the evil empire -- though in the year of #metoo and amid an exciting surge of women candidates, it can certainly feel that way. But the progressive Twittersphere is making it sound like the defeat of Joe Crowley is akin to defeating a combination of Darth Vader and Donald Trump. This is not only ludicrous, it is missing the point. A liberal-leaning immigration advocate who voted with progressives most of the time is not the enemy. The enemy is sitting in the White House. And he won't be defeated if liberal-leaning white men are not allowed to be a part of the fight.

There are bad members and bad candidates who are white men, who have been representing their districts too long, who have become lazy in their jobs. There are also bad members and candidates who are women, and who are minorities. What's more, female candidates, including Ocasio-Cortez, deserve to be thought of as more than their age, gender or their skin color. It takes more than that to win.

3. The way to win back Congress is not to run progressive candidates in every district across the country. A young, charismatic Latina winning a primary in one of the most liberal districts in the country is a great story, an inspirational one. She fits the district. But it does not present a road map for winning back the House and one day the Senate, or even the White House.

The Democratic primary will be driven by the left wing, as Barack Obama and his opposition to the Iraq War, and Bernie Sanders and his opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership can confirm. That is not new. And it will be no different in 2020.

In most swing districts, voting with the leadership of the party -- whether Republican or Democratic -- more than 90% of the time is an anchor, not a strength. Making the "blue districts bluer," as Ocasio-Cortez has called for, will definitely energize young people and progressives. But when it comes to where we need to put our resources, slaying a fellow Democrat with a nearly identical voting record to what yours will ultimately be should be lower on the priority list than winning the seats that will shift control of Congress.