President Donald Trump declined Thursday to rule out Senate Republicans refusing to seat former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola if she defeats Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan in Alaska’s closely watched Senate race, as scrutiny intensifies over an alleged Democratic effort to confuse voters by recruiting a candidate with the incumbent’s name.

Asked by reporters at Joint Base Andrews whether Republicans should refuse to seat Peltola if she wins Tuesday’s election, Trump said, “Well, you're going to have to see what happens.”

Trump also questioned how Peltola’s candidacy could be permitted, calling the reported effort unfair to voters. He accused Democrats of recruiting another Dan Sullivan to mislead Alaskans and divert votes from the Republican incumbent.

“He didn't campaign. He was just put there as a fraud,” Trump said of Daniel J. Sullivan, the retired schoolteacher whose name appears on the ballot alongside that of Sen. Dan S. Sullivan. “But people aren't going to know that, so nobody's going to know what to do.”

The controversy intensified after The New York Times reported Wednesday that senior Peltola advisers and Democratic Senate campaign operatives participated in a secret effort to recruit candidates sharing the incumbent senator’s name. The reported operation, called the “ballot composition project,” involved searching Alaska for people named Dan Sullivan and persuading at least one to enter the race.

Daniel J. Sullivan qualified for the ballot alongside Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, Peltola and candidate Gerald Heikes. Trump also accused Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his allies of involvement in the alleged effort.

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, announced Wednesday that he had ordered an investigation into whether the recruitment effort violated state law.

“Deliberately tricking voters into casting their ballots for someone else strikes at the integrity of our elections,” Dunleavy wrote on X.

Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska also condemned the reported maneuver, accusing Peltola’s campaign of deception. Peltola dismissed the controversy Wednesday as “just another distraction.”

The legal questions surrounding the candidate-sharing tactic are more complicated than the political accusations suggest. Similar strategies have been used by both parties in past elections, and the Times reported that ballot-stacking is not automatically illegal. The Alaska Supreme Court previously ruled that state law did not allow election officials to exclude Daniel J. Sullivan from the ballot based on his motives for running.

The U.S. Department of Justice has separately filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent certification of the election if the Republican incumbent loses. The dispute could therefore extend beyond Election Day, although the legal and procedural consequences remain unresolved.

The RealClearPolitics polling average showed Peltola leading Sen. Sullivan by 1.2 percentage points. Trump warned that the reported recruitment effort could undermine the election’s legitimacy if officials did not address the issue.

“If they don't correct this, it would certainly be a dishonest election,” Trump said Thursday.