Despite online push, Oliver has no definitive plans to challenge U.S. Rep. Fattah

Crowdpac, a political-technology startup site which introduced itself to the Philadelphia area during last month’s mayoral primary, now has its eyes on bolstering the field for the local Congressional seat currently held by Chaka Fattah.

According to a story from NewsWorks‘ Aaron Moselle, Crowdpac “hopes to drum up contenders with a Kickstarter-style campaign that gives voters the chance to pledge support for people who may be mulling a run against the deep-pocketed and deeply connected Democrat.”

Fattah was recently re-elected to an 11th term in Congress, but has had controversy shadowing him for years. …

“More names is huge because what that means is that you’re giving voters more choice,” said Liz Jaff, a political director with Crowdpac. “You might actually excite voters to actually vote in the primary.”

Nearly 20 people are now listed as possible contenders for Fattah in the next primary, including elected officials who support him.

Voters can pledge money to any one of them.

One of those 20 names was that of Doug Oliver, who ran a spirited yet ultimately unsuccessful mayoral campaign in May.

Some of the May 20 talk in political circles revolved around what the 40-year-old might do next. As of Wednesday, he was atop the possible Fattah-foe leaderboard.

[Oliver] said he’s “honored” and “flattered” that he’s being thought of for the 2nd Congressional District seat, but he’s got no definitive plans to challenge Fattah.

To read Moselle’s story, click this link.