State lawmakers and Governor Andrew Cuomo have about a week to reach an agreement on the state budget. Lawmakers insist the negotiations are on track for getting an agreement done on time and before lawmakers leave for a holiday weekend at the end of the month. 

"We're forging ahead, and I truly expect we will have an on-time budget," said Sen. Cathy Young (R - Olean).

But not everyone is convinced, worried that the primary challenge Cuomo now faces from actress and advocate Cynthia Nixon could upend the budget talks.

"Governor Cuomo's reaction to having a primary competitor already shows he's really thinking about politics than focusing on the budget," said Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb.

Cuomo is being challenged on his political left by Nixon, who has pushed him in the past to spend more money on education. Some Republicans fear Cuomo could be spurred to add issues like the Dream Act to the budget, which would provide tuition assistance for undocumented immigrants.

"If we just focused on what we're spending and what we're bringing in in terms of revenue, I think the budget can get done on time," Kolb said. "It's these other policies that have nothing to do with the budget [that] can actually bog down negotiations."

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, however, does not see the Nixon challenge as upending the budget talks.

"We're working well to put this budget together," Heastie said. "There's a time for politics and political campaigns, but right now the time is to put together a budget."

Lawmakers on Tuesday meanwhile made their last-minute pitches for the budget, including a push by Democrats to include $175 million in funding for workforce development for women.

"There are a lot of big pieces," said Assemblywoman Nily Rozic (D - Queens). "The last thing we want is for this to fall off the table. So we brought YWCAs from across the state to make sure that women's voices are at the table as well."

Sources said Tuesday that top lawmakers met again with Cuomo in private at the governor's mansion.