Why arent Animal Rights ever an issue in presidential politics?

[ColemanMaskell]

21. Debates have limited time and they have to hit on the issues voters value most

There are many important issues that they did not hit on in the debates. They have to focus on the biggest issues that are most likely to have impact on voters. I don't think they even touched climate change or the war on drugs. The biggest issues that people use as deciding factors are jobs and the economy, war and peace, and the rights of various interest groups such as the military, the elderly, and people represented by the zinger of Alicia Machado, both a woman and a minority.

They conduct polls -- real scientific ones -- to find out what issues are deciding factors for people. If animal rights were high on the list, they'd be talking about it.

However I do think that animal rights might influence some marginal supporters or undecided voters. It's a niche issue, like pot legalization. If you are connected to potential voters in a niche community then by all means you should disseminate information on where the candidates stand on that issue. Hillary's website has extensive position statements. Google (or any good search engine) is also a useful tool.

If the underlying question is why more people don't care about animals, that's a puzzler and I can't help you much on it. It's like asking why is there racism, why misogyny, why religious intolerance: Partly it's the culture, partly upbringing, partly one's innate temperament, partly one's circumstances in life, partly how good one is at observation and figuring things out. Some things are just hard to understand.