Is U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry considering higher office?

An article in the Lenoir News-Topic over the weekend quotes anonymous McHenry aides speculating that his win over Daniel Johnson this year may have positioned him for a future run:

With McHenry having likely faced his last credible challenges, either from GOP or Democratic circles, speculation has begun about his political future. Those close to McHenry privately say that a run for North Carolina governor in 2012 is one possibility, though a challenge to Senator-elect Kay Hagan in 2014 could be a more likely scenario.

The same senior aides, who spoke on a condition of anonymity, note that a gubernatorial run may hinge on whether Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory opts for a rematch against Bev Perdue. In their estimation, McHenry's relative youth and previous electoral success have positioned him as a leading voice as the state GOP charts its political future.

The article also quotes McHenry calling the attention "flattering" but dismissing the talk.  

A former N.C. College Republicans president who worked his way from the state House of Representatives to become the youngest member of the U.S. House, McHenry is clearly ambitious. 

But he might be better served staying put, rising through the ranks in the House and becoming, as former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay once put it, "the next Tom DeLay."