SANTA FE, N.M. – The Republican candidate for governor of New Mexico said he plans to make good on a promise to release his tax returns.

Congressman and gubernatorial candidate Steve Pearce told The Associated Press on Friday that he plans to make his 2017 tax returns available in mid-October. Absentee voting begins Oct. 9 in the general election.

Pearce says his tax returns are delayed because of incomplete information from independent businesses that sought extensions.

Democratic gubernatorial nominee and U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham has publicly posted five years of tax returns that date back to her first year in Congress. Those returns show past income from a business that runs the state’s high-risk health insurance pool.

State Democratic Party Chairwoman Marg Elliston described Pearce’s plan to release one year of tax returns as “too little, too late.”

Pearce noted that he has provided details of his personal finances on congressional disclosure forms.

Political candidates in New Mexico are not required to release tax returns, and the practice has not been customary in past gubernatorial races.