The Oregon House is full again after Court Boice, a Republican from Gold Beach, was sworn in Thursday morning.

Oregon’s 1st House District, which includes Curry County and portions of Coos and Douglas counties, has been unrepresented for most of the past month, since former Rep. David Brock Smith was appointed to the state Senate. Boice served on the Curry County Commission since 2017.

“I’m going to be learning and going as fast as I can,” Boice told his colleagues after taking his oath of office. “I’m just really honored to be here.”

Boice previously served as the chair of the Curry County Board of Commissioners. He ran for governor last year, placing 12th in a Republican primary field of 19 candidates.

House Republican Leader Vikki Breese-Iverson welcomed him to the House, saying that Boice is cousins with Bev Clarno, the former secretary of state and first Republican woman to serve as speaker of the House.

“We know he’s going to do well because it’s in his blood,” Breese-Iverson said.