PORTLAND, Maine — Maine’s Republican Senator Susan Collins has publicly revealed she lives with a benign essential tremor, marking the first time she has addressed this health matter during her extensive political tenure as she campaigns for reelection in a competitive Senate battle.
Collins confirmed her condition to Maine’s WCSH-TV on Wednesday following inquiries about her health sparked by recent video appearances, including footage from her campaign launch.
The medical condition results in shaking that affects Collins’ hands, head, and voice, something she has experienced throughout her almost 30-year Senate tenure. The disorder impacts millions of Americans beyond age 40 and “does not interfere” with her professional duties, Collins explained in a Thursday statement to The Associated Press. She emphasized it is not a progressive neurological disease.
“The tremor is occasionally inconvenient, and sometimes the subject of cruel comments online, but it does not hinder my ability to work and, as I said, is something that I have lived with for decades,” her statement read.
Candidate health and age have become prominent topics in major elections after Democratic President Joe Biden chose not to pursue reelection in 2024 at 81 years old. Similar concerns persist regarding Republican President Donald Trump, age 79, who has recently appeared with hand bruising, sometimes covered with cosmetics. The White House confirmed last year that Trump received a diagnosis of chronic venous insufficiency.
Collins faces reelection in a seat that Democrats must win to potentially regain Senate control. Her expected challenger is Democrat Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and military veteran, following Democratic Governor Janet Mills’ campaign suspension last week. Age has emerged as a campaign factor, with Collins at 73 and Mills at 78 being more than three decades senior to the 41-year-old Platner.
Platner has been transparent about his own health challenges from early in his campaign. He has discussed ongoing pain in his shoulder and knees resulting from combat duty, and has shared his post-traumatic stress disorder diagnosis following wartime service. Platner holds a 100% disability designation from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs while maintaining his work as an oyster farmer.
“There are a lot of disabled combat veterans, or just disabled vets, at 100%, who still work,” Platner explained to WCSH last year. “It’s a very normal thing.”
Collins began her Senate service in 1996 and confirmed in her statement that the condition has been present throughout her tenure. The tremor has been observable during Collins’ debates and numerous public engagements over the years.
Serving as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Collins has taken a leading role in the chamber’s numerous budget battles this Congress, frequently directing floor discussions and delivering the GOP’s final arguments. She regularly speaks with media in the Capitol corridors. Her record of consecutive Senate votes has reached 9,966, representing the second-longest unbroken voting record in the chamber’s history.
Tremors occur when nerve signals fail to communicate properly with specific muscles. Essential tremor, also known as benign essential tremor, ranks among the most prevalent movement conditions, according to the National Institutes of Health.
The likelihood of developing this condition grows with age, though at least half of instances are hereditary, indicating family history, and these typically emerge earlier in life. The condition nearly always includes hand trembling or shaking but may also impact the head, voice, or legs.
