Sens. Bob Casey and Sherrod Brown stump with John Fetterman at rally in Erie

Lt. Gov. John Fetterman returned to Erie on Thursday with nearly a month remaining in his bid to be Pennsylvania's next U.S. senator — and this time he brought two of the fellow Democrats he hopes to join.

Senators Bob Casey, Sherrod Brown stump for Fetterman

Fetterman held a rally with about 150 supporters at the U.E. Local 506 Labor Hall in Lawrence Park. He was joined by U.S. Sens. Bob Casey, the commonwealth's other senator, and Sherrod Brown of Ohio.

"I live in Pennsylvania. I grew up in Pennsylvania and I am going to fight for Pennsylvania and the union way of life as we know it here in this union hall," Fetterman said during his speech Thursday.

Casey and Brown spent Thursday crisscrossing the Pennsylvania-Ohio border to stump for Fetterman and U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, the Ohio Democrat running against Republican J.D. Vance.

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Brown, who was first elected in 2006 and is in the middle of his third term in office, said if Democrats can pick up two seats in the U.S. Senate, he wants the party to prioritize eliminating the filibuster, codifying Roe v. Wade and then passing the Protecting the Right to Organizing (PRO) Act, which would strengthen protections for workers who want to form a labor union.

Both Fetterman and Ryan are running for open Senate seats currently held by incumbent Republicans, Sens. Pat Toomey and Rob Portman, respectively. Neither senator is running for re-election.

Oz gaining ground on Fetterman in polls

Fetterman, who in August chose Erie to make his return to the campaign trail after suffering a stroke during the primary, has been running ahead of celebrity heart surgeon Mehmet Oz, but the latest polls have shown the race tightening in recent days.

Survey says:Fetterman's lead on Oz slips as Shapiro's widens over Mastriano in USA TODAY/Suffolk poll

Fetterman on Thursday pushed back on a barrage of attack ads from the Oz campaign on his record on crime, specifically Fetterman's role as chairman of the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons. Oz has accused Fetterman of wanting to "free convicted murderers," citing his support to grant clemency to 37 people.

Fetterman said Oz is lying about his record on crime. Fetterman said he's running on that record, though, noting that gun violence motivated him to run for mayor of his hometown of Braddock.

"That's why I ran to be mayor," he said, "that was a big reason. And because I worked with the police and the community, we were able to stop the killings for five and a half years."

As lieutenant governor, Fetterman said he's worked with Gov. Tom Wolf to give people second chances, citing the Marijuana Pardon Project, which is an initiative that Wolf and Fetterman have taken up to expedite the pardon process for people with non-violent marijuana convictions.

He then lauded President Joe Biden's decision Thursday to pardon thousands of Americans who have been convicted on federal charges of simple marijuana possession. Fetterman spoke with Biden about marijuana policy reform in Pittsburgh on Labor Day last month.

"That's one of the things we asked for," he said. "We're delivering a real record on crime and second chances."

Oz responds

Oz issued a statement following Fetterman's Erie stop Thursday.

"What does John Fetterman know about workers?" Oz campaign spokeswoman Brittany Yannick said, citing the $25,000 of liens that were placed on properties once owned by Fetterman and an organization he founded, Braddock Redux, more than six years ago — liens that had been paid prior to Fetterman's first campaign for the U.S. Senate in 2016. Yannick also accused Fetterman of missing work as Braddock mayor

"Not only is John Fetterman out of touch with Pennsylvanians working middle class, but his support for radical policies would devastate our economy, hurt small business owners, and take jobs away from Pennsylvania,"  Yanick said.

This is a developing story. Return to GoErie.com for updates.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: John Fetterman joins Sens. Bob Casey, Sherrod Brown at Erie, PA rally