Voting for the third party candidate when it doesn't matter, (since you are not in a swing state), is not a strong message at all. Come back when you have some

Voting for the third party candidate when it doesn't matter, (since you are not in a swing state), is not a strong message at all. Come back when you have some skin in the game. Everyone looks at the president as some kind of be-all, end-all, but it isn't. Informed voting on candidates in lower level of government who has opinions that are more in line of your own, can then go on to shape the political landscape further on in their career.