The local races sure are critical. The GOP has had their gov. and leg. "stars aligned" in Juneau from 2002 - 2015 but proved themselves corrupt and/or incompetent. Their leadership is an epic failure and voters need to impose a Nov. 8 term limit on most of them.
But dang! The presidential race doesn't matter? Many struggling voters aren't so fortunate and secure that they feel they have the luxury of not caring because of our time zone. I'd love to see Alaska turn as blue as our state flag, even in Alaska time. And think about this: two to three new SCOTUS justices. 
BTW, it's impossible for anyone to win a federal election without taking piles of corporate money under the current campaign finance rules.