Sen. Collins always said she admired Sen. Margaret Chase Smith of Maine, who until 1981 held the voting record of 2,941 votes in row on the Senate floor. Having been in the position since 1996, Collins made Smith proud by extending her tally this past year to 4,825 consecutive votes.

She may have surpassed her mentor, but Collins still lags the House record holder William Proxmire of Wisconsin who voted 10,252 times consecutively.