Ted Cruz sat down for a haircut and got an earful.

On Saturday at the Kingdom Cuts barbershop in east Dallas, Cruz engaged in a wide-ranging political discussion with patrons and the shop’s owners. Topics included immigration, criminal justice reform and gay marriage.

And after more than an hour in the chair, the U.S. senator got a special, hot towel treatment and razor line, as the policy discussion continued.

"It was fabulous," Cruz said. "And I've got to tell you. The hot towel, that's the way to go."

Cruz's stop in Dallas was about more than haircuts and barbecue, which he got later.

In his re-election bid against Democratic Rep. Beto O'Rourke, the Republican is looking for conservative votes throughout Texas.

O'Rourke, D-El Paso, has run an inspired campaign backed by stout fundraising that has outpaced Cruz, the incumbent first elected in 2012 and who ran for president in 2016.

In the aftermath of President Donald Trump's stunning 2016 victory over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Democrats have enjoyed an energy and enthusiasm that they hope will produce numerous victories in the November midterm elections, including in the Cruz/O'Rourke Senate showdown.

Cruz has said that Democrats, fueled by their anger about Trump, will walk over glass to vote in November. But he's convinced that if conservatives show up at the polls in a state dominated by Republicans, he'll be re-elected.

He's looking for Republican voters in all kinds of places, including an east Dallas block that can be described as Beto Country, though part of the family that runs the barbershop identifies with conservatism.

"This election is about turnout, turnout, turnout," Cruz told The Dallas Morning News. "The hard left are energized and they are angry and a great many of them hate the president. We're going to see record-breaking Democratic turnout. The good news is that there are more conservatives than liberals. If we show up, Texas will stay bright red. "

At the barbershop, Cruz said Republicans have the formula for prosperity.

"People want more jobs, more wages and greater opportunity," Cruz said. "Texans understand that the way to get jobs is low taxes, low regulation and creating an environment where small businesses like this barbershop can thrive and grow."

A mini-town hall

Adam and Shawna Rodriguez, co-owners of Kingdom Cuts, are unlikely small business professionals.

The couple told Cruz: "We came up in the dope game."

But after several years in prison, Adam Rodriguez, 35, turned to religion, as did his wife.

"When he went to prison it spiraled downhill," said Shawna Rodriguez, 34. "So we gave our lives to Jesus."

Adam Rodriguez, who gave Cruz his haircut Saturday, called on the senator to push for criminal justice reform. (Louis DeLuca/Staff Photographer)

As Rodriguez cut Cruz's hair, he urged the senator to push for criminal justice reform, describing how a man who had killed a loved one got five years in prison, nearly the same sentence he got for a non-violent drug crime.

"Why does that happen?" he asked.

Others wanted to know what Cruz thought of illegal immigration.

He told them he supported immigrants coming to the county legally, noting that his Cuban father, Rafael Cruz, was once a dishwasher and is now a Carrollton pastor.

"We're a nation built on immigrants," Cruz said. "We can embrace that. It's entirely consistent with the fact that we need to secure the border."

Cruz also said that the current border crisis, where children illegally crossing the border are being separated from their families, has resulted in "overheated rhetoric on both sides."

He said that he has legislation in the Senate that would keep families together and expedite due process but that it would be a mistake to release all adults in custody for illegally crossing the border.

Shawna Rodriguez complained to Cruz about the lack of school prayer.

"I don't know why it's okay for gay marriage but my kids are not allowed to pray," she said.

Cruz answered in part: "There are folks pushing their own agenda and we are seeing the consequences."

After his haircut, Cruz participated in a prayer led by Adam Rodriguez's mother, Martha Rodriguez.

"To see my son discussing the issues with a senator after all he's been through is nothing but God," she said.

Though Martha Rodriguez is a Republican, Shawna said she's not decided on O'Rourke or Cruz.

"The only concrete decision we've made about this race is to follow Jesus," she said.

Later, Cruz held a large rally at Ferris Wheelers Backyard and BBQ in the Dallas Design District.

"I thought we had a candid, honest conversation, but also one filled with hope," he said.

On immigration, Cruz said he is in favor of immigrants coming to the U.S. legally. He said the current border crisis, in which children illegally crossing the border were separated from their families, has yielded "overheated rhetoric on both sides." (Louis DeLuca/Staff Photographer)

Also on Saturday, Cruz said he hoped O'Rourke would accept the terms of his proposal to debate five times before the November elections.

O'Rourke wants six debates and for all of them to be in a town hall format with no pre-determined topics.

"I don't think that makes sense," Cruz said, who insists the debates have policy topics and be moderated by professional journalists.

"The voters deserve to have a clear contrast based on ideas and substance," Cruz said.