Montana Democrat Busse releases tax returns as he seeks a debate with Gov. Gianforte

BILLINGS (AP) — Montana Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ryan Busse provided 10 years of income tax records on Tuesday as he sought to goad Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte into debating him ahead of the November election.

The release of the tax records to The Associated Press comes after Gianforte last week dismissed Busse as not a "serious candidate" and suggested he wouldn't debate him since the Democrat had not released his tax returns.

"It's a complete charade," Busse told AP after providing his returns. "If this is the singular reason why Gianforte will not debate, I'm not going to let him have that excuse."