North Carolina would become a bigger player in national politics if lawmakers OK legislation that would move the state’s presidential primary from May to March.

Political operatives already have given the Tar Heel State battleground status heading into the 2012 election cycle. The Democratic Party has scheduled its national convention for Charlotte, but the GOP hopes to keep the state’s 15 electoral college votes in its corner, as it has every presidential election for the past three decades except 2008.

The bill’s primary sponsor, Republican Sen. Andrew Brock of Davie County, said the measure would boost North Carolina’s economy by attracting more presidential campaigns. He also said it would be good for both major political parties.

“This will benefit both Republicans and Democrats in our election cycles, and get more people out to vote in the primary,” Brock said. “They’ll think their vote will matter.”

North Carolina’s primary on the first Tuesday of May makes it one of the last states in the union to hold one. Typically, that means North Carolinians don’t have much say in which candidate gets the nomination.

Brock’s legislation got a mixed reception in a Senate judiciary committee Tuesday morning. Most of the concerns centered on the cost of having two primaries — the presidential one in March, and all other state and federal offices in May.

Gary Bartlett, executive director of the State Board of Elections, put the cost at $5 million each election cycle. Counties would incur most of the costs, he said.

Brock said he would be willing to amend the bill to convert all the primaries to March.

Sen. Josh Stein, D-Wake, said that just because North Carolina has a late primary doesn’t mean the state is insignificant. As an example, he pointed to 2008, when Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were still locked in an intense fight during the Old North State’s primary.

“I don’t feel like our current system has rendered us completely irrelevant to the presidential nomination process,” Stein said.

The committee could take a vote on the measure as early as next week.

David N. Bass is an associate editor of Carolina Journal.