Maine Senator Susan Collins says tremor is common, won’t affect reelection run

Susan Collins said she has lived with a benign essential tremor throughout her tenure in the U.S. Senate, and she cast the condition as a routine medical fact rather than a limit on her work. In an interview with News Center Maine, the 73-year-old senator said, “What I have is an extremely common condition that is called a benign essential tremor. I have had it for the entire time that I have served in the United States Senate. It has absolutely no impact on my ability to do my job or on how I feel each day.”

Collins said the tremor has drawn “cruel comments online,” a reminder of how quickly visible health issues can become political fodder, especially for elected officials facing scrutiny over age and stamina. News Center Maine reported that some Mainers and Washingtonians may have noticed shaking in Collins’ hands, head or voice. Collins said she has never missed a Senate floor vote during her 30 years in office, a record that is approaching 10,000 consecutive votes.

The disclosure lands in a politically charged year for Collins, who is seeking reelection in November 2026 to a sixth Senate term. At 73, she is running in an environment where the age and health of older national leaders have become a persistent campaign issue, sharpened by the broader debate that followed President Joe Biden’s decision to end his 2024 campaign amid health questions. For Collins, the statement serves both as a medical explanation and as a public assertion of continuity: she is telling voters that the tremor is visible but not disabling.

Essential tremor is a neurological movement disorder that causes rhythmic shaking, most often in the hands, but it can also affect the head, voice, trunk or legs. Medical sources say it is one of the most common movement disorders and is frequently confused with Parkinson’s disease, though it is generally not dangerous. A medical review cited prevalence estimates of about 1% worldwide overall and about 5% among adults over 60. Treatment can include medication, and in more severe cases, procedures such as deep brain stimulation.

For Collins, the political significance is less about the diagnosis itself than the timing and the transparency. In a campaign season likely to test voter confidence in aging officeholders, she has framed the issue as common, manageable and irrelevant to her ability to serve.