Is Arizona the last state to recognize Martin Luther King Holiday?

Answer 1

In a year full of political surprises all across the country, many may have overlooked one of the biggest surprises of 1992. The 61 to 39 percent victory of Proposition 300 -- the Martin Luther King Jr./Civil Rights Day referendum in Arizona -- stunned even the most seasoned political observers in the state, who were calling the race a virtual toss-up even on election day.

In 1990, voters in Arizona defeated two King holiday propositions Proposition 301, which would have replaced Columbus Day with Martin Luther King Day as a state holiday, was soundly defeated. Proposition 302 -- which would have kept Columbus Day, but added an extra state holiday for King -- lost by only one percent, but polls had showed it with a 12 percent lead going into the final week of the campaign. Many have attributed its loss to voter backlash resulting from anger at the NFL's threat that it would pull the 1993 Super Bowl out of Arizona if one of the two propositions did not pass. Peter

* Burr, analyst for Command Research, said the biggest problem in 1990 was that pro-King forces "ultimately failed to convince voters why the King holiday was a holiday for everyone, and not just African-Americans."

The environment in Arizona in which the Victory Together (the coalition formed to pass the referendum) campaign was operating was a strategic minefield. Voters were clearly tired of the issue and resentful that forces from both inside and outside Arizona insisted on throwing it in their faces once …

And the answer is No. New Hampshire in 1999. Utah was last to call it by name in 2000.