Here are just some of the most important topics that arose in 2018:

O’ROURKE VS. CRUZ:

Can Texas vote blue in a sea of red?

After storming through the Democratic Primary, El Paso native and Congressman Beto O’Rourke is the Texas Democratic Party’s big hope to unseat Ted Cruz in the 2018 U.S. Senate race.

He has been traveling throughout Texas, hosting town halls. There hasn’t been a Democratic senator from Texas since 1993, but O’Rourke said “failure is not an option” after his primary victory in March.

This past month, he announced that he raised $6.7 million in donations through 2018, which surpassed Cruz’s $3.2 million raised in the same period.

O’Rourke is running a grassroots campaign and rejects corporate donors to fund his campaign. His political platform includes immigration reform, giving back a voice to smaller communities across Texas and his opposition to the war on drugs.

Quinnipiac University research showed that Cruz currently has an advantage by three points, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

Cruz continues to push Texas as a red state, claiming that Beto does not stand a chance against him. The election is slated for Nov. 6.

Streetcar Project Wrapping Up Final Stages

The El Paso Streetcar project has been in construction since 2017, and now it is on its final stages of progress. Now, overhead electrical work will close certain traffic lanes in the coming weeks to finalize the project before the project sets its first car on the tracks.

It will affect streets such Oregon, Stanton, Glory Road and Baltimore Drive, which could affect traffic in the UTEP area.

When it is completed, the streetcars will travel on a five-mile route, linking the downtown area to the Cincinnati district and the UTEP campus. It plans to have 27 stops, include Wi-Fi on each car and will look to provide alternate transportation to the area.

The $97million project hopes to be finished this year and run the first car by the fall.

USL team awaits identity

In February, MountainStar Sports Group announced that they would be bringing a United Soccer League team to El Paso as part of a league expansion project.

El Paso’s team will start play in March 2019, and in the coming weeks they will announce the team’s name, bring in coaches and players and work toward a future stadium.

Last week, Andrew Forrest was named general manager of business operations for the El Paso USL organization.

“Andrew’s accomplishments in professional soccer team business management and his extensive experience in sales and operations will drive an effective organization for El Paso USL,” said Alan Ledford, president of MountainStar Sports Group. “We are excited to have Andrew join our organization as we prepare for the inaugural season of professional soccer in El Paso in March of 2019.”

For the first season, the Sun City USL team will play its regular season games at Southwest University Park, sharing it with the Chihuahuas baseball team.

MountainStar Sports Group plans on having a more permanent location for the USL team by the 2020 season, which could be different from the disputed Duranguito area’s multi-event center. They want to place the USL team somewhere downtown, but the location is yet to be determined.

Escobar on pace to make Texas history

After her victory over Dori Fenenbock in the Democratic Primary for the 16th Congressional District seat, Veronica Escobar is on track to become Texas’ first Latina woman elected into Congress.

She will take on local Republican nominee Rick Seeberger in the general election on Nov. 6.

Escobar’s platform is focused on improving problems on the border, helping immigrants and she has continuously voiced her opinions against President Donald Trump.

Follow Adrian Broaddus on Twitter @adrian_broaddus