BUFFALO, N.Y. — Primary debates are scheduled in the Democratic races for both New York governor and lieutenant governor. Although it took the incumbents a while to agree to details, state Democratic Party Chair Byron Brown says they were always interested.

"Governor Cuomo, Lieutenant Governor Hochul, they have great records on the issues. They have stood for the progressive values that are important to locals and I think that will come through loud and clear in the debates," Brown said.

Gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon said Cuomo's campaign negotiated all of the details of their August 29 debate without consulting her — however she feels fortunate to have one at all.

"I think at the end of the day, no matter how he stacks that audience or he stacks those questions, the important thing is for us to be able to talk about the future of the state of New York," she said.

Meanwhile, the incumbents continue to hammer the challengers on their tax returns. Nixon's released one year. LG candidate Jumaane Williams has not released any yet, although he vowed to now that Hochul's agreed to debate him.

"Oftentimes when people don't want to release their taxes, it's because they have something to hide. It's because there's some issue, some problem," Brown said.

He is challenging both candidates to release at least five years’ worth, something Nixon scoffed at Tuesday.

"I have released more taxes than Andrew Cuomo when he ran for office for the first time. One year is perfectly appropriate," Nixon said.

Cuomo's office responded to that claim Tuesday night, saying Nixon's statement is "patently false. The governor released 14 years of returns in 2006 and released them every year as attorney general, meaning he had near two decades of returns available when he ran for governor in 2010." 

But the Democratic chair said things have changed over the last few years, after President Donald Trump refused to release his tax returns during his campaign. At the May convention, he pointed out the party adopted a resolution holding statewide candidates to a higher standard.

"They are running in the Democratic primary to be governor and lieutenant governor and it is important that they follow the principles of the party," said Brown.