PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- U.S. Sen. Susan Collins has announced that she is engaged to a longtime friend who currently works as a political consultant in Washington.
Collins says she and Thomas Daffron, 73, plan a private wedding ceremony in Maine this summer. No date has been set.
The two met when they worked for former Maine Sen. Bill Cohen in the late 1970s and have been friends for many years, but it wasn't until a couple of years ago that they started dating.
Daffron is the chief operating officer of Jefferson Consulting Group.
Collins, first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996, says they share a passion for the outdoors and a good book, and describes Daffron as smart, a good friend, with a wonderful sense of humor.
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.