ATTLEBORO, Mass. (WPRI) — Attleboro Mayor Paul Heroux is traveling to Washington on Friday as he explores a run for higher office next year, 12 News has confirmed.

In an interview, Heroux said he will be “meeting with a couple of organizations” in D.C. as he considers his options.

“They are heavily lobbying me to run for one particular seat — a lot of people are,” he said.

Heroux said he is looking “very seriously” at a run for one of two offices. He declined to specify which ones, though he did say he has ruled out a bid for lieutenant governor.

Local political observers have floated Heroux as a potential challenger to Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson, a Republican who has held the job since 1997 and is aligned with former President Trump. At least one Democrat, Fall River attorney Nicholas Bernier, has already announced a run against Hodgson.

Heroux was re-elected by Attleboro voters to a third two-year term last month, and during the campaign he indicated it would be his last term as mayor. The 45-year-old Democrat previously served as a state representative, and prior to that briefly mounted a campaign for Congress.

Heroux said he expects to make a final decision in the next couple of weeks, but it won’t be until after his swearing-in as mayor. “I think that would be poorly received by people in Attleboro,” he said.

But, he added, “I need to start raising money. And it’s getting kind of late in the game.”