It is fixed in this state, and has been for a long, long time.
My dad was involved in local politics in this state, and he was the bane of the School Committee and Selectmen because he was a social and fiscal conservative...he was always the fly in the ointment, and we got plenty of profane and disgusting calls to the house for him back then. He was (I believe) a plankowner in “Citizens for Limited Taxation” in this state back around 1975 IIRC.
He had to run as a Democrat to even have a chance at a state office, and he did, even though he lost. That always fascinated me, that he would make that choice. I think that for him, it boiled down to the view that you can’t make changes unless you get in the door.
There is a lot to like about this area, but the politics is not one of those things. For a conservative, it is humiliating and disgusting.
I live in the central part of the state. The real issue is the cities. Worcester, Boston, Springfield, Lowell, Lynn, Haverhill, Lawrence, Fall River, etc. The gerrymandered districts make it near impossible to win. In my 2nd district it’s Lovvorn vs. McGovern. I hold little hope.
But with the NY Times op ed saying the latest Warren thing is a fiasco, there is a possibility that Diehl could pull this off. Those polls are SKEWED. It’s much tighter than that.