Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who is seeking reelection in one of the most hotly contested races in the nation, disclosed in an interview published Wednesday that she had long had what she called a benign essential tremor.

“I have had it for the entire time that I have served in the United States Senate,” Collins, 73, told News Center Maine, a local outlet. “It has absolutely no impact on my ability to do my job or on how I feel each day.”

Her remarks came amid mounting online scrutiny — pushed in particular on the left — of the shakiness that is often detectable when Collins speaks, and questions about whether it has worsened with time.

In a statement, Collins said it was something she had “lived with for decades.”

“The tremor is occasionally inconvenient, and sometimes the subject of cruel comments online, but it does not hinder my ability to work,” she said.

Collins is expected to face off against Graham Platner, a 41-year-old Democratic oysterman and political newcomer, in a general election that could decide control of the Senate.

Debates over age and fitness have taken on new potency in American politics after former President Joe Biden was pressured into abandoning his reelection bid over concerns about his ability to serve into his 80s. President Donald Trump, for his part, turns 80 next month and has also shown signs of aging, and in both parties there has been evidence of frustration with the gerontocracy.

While the Democratic primary race has not yet been held officially, Platner effectively pushed his chief rival, Gov. Janet Mills, 78, out of the race. He rode a wave of antiestablishment fervor and demands for a new generation of leadership into a dominant position in the primary contest.

Tensions over age, experience and character will be major themes of the general election, playing out in a political environment that has deteriorated for Republicans.

Collins has held the Senate seat for three decades and has survived difficult Democratic challenges before, but Trump lost the state by about 7 percentage points in the 2024 presidential election.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Katie Glueck/Kenny Holston
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