Ever since the specter of a Joe Coors campaign for Congress first came to light, Democrats have done their level best to insist that Coors stands no shot at winning. Telling a much different tale about the threat Coors poses to incumbent Democratic Congressman Edwin Perlmutter is the $1 million dollars two liberal outside groups have spent in recent weeks attacking Joe Coors on television.

Put simply, Democrats are frightened of the electoral freight train that is the Coors campaign.

Joe Coors can spend big, has sky-high name ID and appears to be generally liked by all reporters who meet him. That, and he’s challenging Perlmutter in a district that’s nearly half brand new to both candidates.

A year ago, virtually no one would have said that Perlmutter was at risk of a serious challenge in 2012, seeing that he walloped Ryan Frazier by 11 points in the Republican wave year of 2010.

How quickly the tides have turned.

After Nancy Pelosi’s House Majority PAC dropped $500,000 attacking Coors, the Democrat mouthpiece blog Colorado Pols laughably tried to convince their readers that the race would be over now, suggesting the terribly-produced spot by House Majority PAC would be a “Coup de Grace.”

“…what we hear from Democrats is they want this race relegated to sideshow status as quickly as possible so they can focus on pickups elsewhere in Colorado…”

Turns out relegating the CD7 race between Coors and Perlmutter to sideshow status didn’t happen, forcing public sector union AFSCME and the SEIU to drop another $500,000 attacking Coors.

Colorado Pols’ truly pathetic spin got even worse this weekend, claiming “Joe Coors’ candidacy won’t survive” a story by Lynn Bartels in the Sunday Denver Post.

Wishing doesn’t make it so, Pols.

More importantly, actions speak louder than blogs. The fact that the CD7 race has seen more money pumped into it by liberal outside groups than the rest of the Congressional races in Colorado combined means the race isn’t going sideshow anytime soon.

As we’ve noted previously, Coors went up big, early with positive advertising, having the airwaves virtually to himself all summer. That, plus the built-in name ID from being a Coors, means the Coors campaign enters the final stretch of the campaign with some significant advantages. According to the National Journal, over 40% of CD7 is brand new to Perlmutter, significantly weakening one of the key advantages incumbents possess.

The Coors campaign ability to go punch-for-punch on the air with Perlmutter and his allies was made clear when $1.8 million was reserved in fall ad time by the campaign — a figure certain to cause some heartburn over at Perlmutter HQ.

What this all adds up to is a race that will likely go down to the wire, and no Nancy Pelosi ad or Lynn Bartels article will change that fact. But keep hoping, Colorado Pols.