Hickenlooper wants changes after Roe v. Wade ruling

The Supreme Court's ruling overturning Roe v. Wade requires "systemic, structural changes" to our democracy, Colorado U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper says.

What's new: In an exclusive interview with Axios Denver, the first-term Democrat said he won't support expanding the court to counter its current conservative slant, as some other Democrats are demanding.

• "This is where you begin looking at options, but I haven't gotten there yet," Hickenlooper said, ruling out the idea after previously avoiding a definitive answer.

Instead he is thinking beyond the court to "level out" the extreme partisan reflexes in Washington, D.C. He endorsed ranked-choice voting, and said he's looking at other changes to how Americans vote.

• Referring to social media, he said "we are letting those influences go unabated, untethered, unrestrained into this old way of deciding who gets elected."

Yes, but: Even Hickenlooper acknowledged he's not sure his forthcoming ideas will work.

Context: In December, he endorsed changes to end the filibuster rule in the U.S. Senate to allow legislation to pass by a simple majority, staking out ground on an issue he refused to fully address during his 2020 campaign.

The intrigue: Since the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision, Hickenlooper told an audience at Tattered Cover on Sunday that he's repeatedly asked to take action to counter the ruling.

• His answer: "What we've got to do is win elections. And we have not done a good enough job winning elections in all the states."