A leading potential challenger to state Sen. Bill Perkins, a major critic of charter schools, yesterday came out in favor of more charters.

Political consultant Basil Smikle, 38, a former aide to ex-President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, says he supports lifting the state cap of 200 charters.

A recent Perkins hearing slammed charters, and advocates say Perkins-submitted legislation would stunt their growth.

“The results speak for themselves,” Smikle said. “In an apples-to-apples comparison, charter schools do work. There is clear evidence that parents want charter schools.”

Smikle, the son of a Queens public-school teacher, stressed there was no contradiction in championing both public schools and the publicly funded, privately managed charters.

The Post, meanwhile, has learned that another potential candidate, political consultant Rodney Capel, has opted not to run in the Democratic primary.

That leaves Smikle and Parks Department Deputy Commissioner Larry Blackmon, and they have agreed only one will run, to avoid splitting the anti-incumbent vote and ensuring Perkins’ re-election.