(CNN) Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke in 2012 called charter schools a "good idea" and said they "encourage competition" and innovation in classrooms.

The former Texas congressman's comments came in a January 2012 primary debate during his successful bid to unseat Democratic Rep. Silvestre Reyes. His past comments could draw criticism in the Democratic presidential primary; charter schools are controversial in Democratic politics, with teachers' unions complaining that they siphon money away from public schools -- while skirting the same sort of strict accountability measures and mandates to take all children that public schools face.

"I think charter schools are a good idea. They encourage competition. They encourage innovation in the classroom, and they're a laboratory for some of the best ideas and concepts in public education today," O'Rourke said then. "Because remember, at the end of the day, the person that we care the most about in the educational system is the student. So let's find out what's best for the student. And I say, let's try everything possible to make sure that we're delivering the best possible result."

"Now, I don't think it's an either-or proposition," he added, pointing out that charter schools are public schools. "I do think it's a matter of making sure that we innovate, that we encourage creativity. And as I said in my previous answer, we need to encourage a lifelong love of earning -- learning, and earning -- and intellectual curiosity. I think charter schools help us get that done."

O'Rourke's wife, Amy O'Rourke, is the former head of a dual-language elementary charter school. She now works for an El Paso non-profit, the Council on Regional Economic Expansion and Educational Development, that has backed the expansion of charter schools there.

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