Sen. Susan Collins Discloses Longstanding Benign Essential Tremor

Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said she has had a benign essential tremor for decades, a condition she described as non-progressive and one that does not interfere with her work. Collins, who was first elected to the Senate in 1996, confirmed the diagnosis after questions arose from her campaign announcement video.

She has never missed a Senate vote, maintaining a consecutive voting streak of 9,966, the second-longest in Senate history, and currently serves as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

” She added that the tremor “does not interfere” with her work and is not a neurodegenerative condition. Collins told WCSH-TV that she has had essential tremor for the entirety of her nearly three-decade Senate career.

According to the Mayo Clinic, essential tremor is a neurological condition that causes involuntary rhythmic shaking most often in the hands. It usually is not a dangerous condition but can worsen over time and is sometimes confused with Parkinson’s disease.

The National Institutes of Health states that essential tremor is one of the most common movement disorders and that at least half of cases are inherited.

Collins is seeking a sixth term in the Senate and has said the current campaign will be her final one. Her likely opponent in November is Democrat Graham Platner, 41, a former Marine and oyster farmer who has made age and generational change central to his campaign.

Platner, who served in the Department of Veterans Affairs and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after his war service, also has chronic pain in his shoulder and knees from combat. “There are a lot of disabled combat veterans, or just disabled vets, at 100%, who still work,” Platner told WCSH last year.

Gov. Janet Mills, 78, suspended her campaign last week because of her inability to raise money.