PROVIDENCE — General Assembly leaders are moving to try to make the nation’s smallest state a player in choosing the next president by holding the state’s 2008 presidential primary a month earlier than its usual March date.

Under legislation filed yesterday by Sen. Leonidas P. Raptakis, D-Coventry, Rhode Island’s primary would shift from March 4 to Feb. 5, the earliest date the state can choose under national Democratic Party rules.

“I think it would attract more candidates to the state and increase interest with voters in Rhode Island,” said Raptakis.

That would position Rhode Island closer to the beginning of the presidential election season, right after the four states that have so far locked up the earliest dates for Democratic primaries or caucuses — Iowa (Jan. 14), Nevada (Jan. 19), New Hampshire (Jan. 22) and South Carolina, (Jan. 29). The Republicans have Iowa and New Hampshire leading off, with the rest of the schedule in flux.

General Assembly leaders, including House Speaker William Murphy, D-West Warwick; Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Paiva Weed, D-Newport; and Rep. Robert Watson, R-East Greenwich, House Minority leader; all said yesterday that they favor the change in date.

“I am very supportive of moving the presidential primary date forward,” said Murphy. “It will be a great way to bring more national attention to Rhode Island.”

Murphy said yesterday the House will file legislation similar to Raptakis’ early next month, after next week’s legislative recess.

“I’d love to see Rhode Island become more relevant in the presidential equation,” said Watson, who is state chairman for Arizona Sen. John McCain’s campaign for the GOP presidential nomination. “It would be great if Rhode Island was alone in New England on that day, which would make us the first New England state after New Hampshire to hold a primary.”

The move would make Rhode Island among a growing number of states seeking to shift their presidential primaries to earlier dates in order to give them more clout in the Byzantine presidential nominating process. Other states considering shifting their primaries to Feb. 5 from later dates include California, New Jersey and New York.

While tentative dates have been set, both the Republican and Democratic primary and caucus calendars are somewhat unsettled. New Hampshire has a state law that requires its traditional leadoff primary be set earlier in the process than any other primary, a law that a spokesman for New Hampshire Secretary of State William Gardner said yesterday will be strictly followed.

The primaries and caucuses choose delegates to the Democratic and Republican national conventions, which then pick their parties’ respective candidates. But for practical purposes, in the last few election cycles, the presidential candidates have been chosen in the early contests — usually by the middle of February — and primaries and caucuses held later do not get much attention from candidates, political figures, campaign workers, reporters or academics.

Historically, Rhode Island’s presidential primaries have drawn scant national notice, few campaign visits by candidates and have largely been ignored by local voters; over the years the state has had some of the lowest presidential primary voter turnouts in the nation.

There have been exceptions, such as the 2000 election cycle, when McCain campaigned personally here, built a strong organization on the ground and defeated then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush in a record GOP primary turnout.

“I hate to sound parochial but my interest is in making Rhode Island important in the presidential selection process,” said William Lynch of Pawtucket, Rhode Island’s Democratic state chairman. “You want to be a player nationally. We’re a small state and I’d prefer not to have our primary held after the candidate is for all intents and purposes chosen.”

smackay@projo.com