SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. -- Proponents of creating a 51st state held a bake sale to raise money for their cause.



The Spokesman-Review reports that supporters of the proposed Christian conservative state, which would span parts of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, raised money by auctioning pies and other desserts.



The Liberty State Gala drew about 200 people in the city of Spokane Valley on Thursday evening.



Speakers included Washington state Rep. Matt Shea, a Spokane Valley Republican who has championed the Liberty State movement.



Shea spoke of the cultural and political differences between eastern and western Washington, denied the existence of global warming, and claimed the United States is "a Christian nation" under siege by atheists and Communists.



Spokane City Councilman Mike Fagen and county Prosecutor Larry Haskell also attended.