Link to the thread on Bobby (2006), which takes place on the very last day of the campaign.

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Columbus sets sail on Kennedy film
Chris Columbus will direct a feature about Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 presidential run.
In his first deal since forming a first-look alliance with India-based Reliance Big Entertainment, Columbus and his 1492 Prods. have acquired screen rights to the Thurston Clarke book "The Last Campaign: Robert F. Kennedy and 82 Days That Inspired America." . . .
Kennedy's idealistic campaign, which focused squarely on poverty, racism and ending the unpopular Vietnam War, resonated with Columbus and his 1492 partners. While losing his iconic brother made him wary of crowds, Kennedy refused to insulate himself from the public during his run.
"Chris was inspired by the fearlessness Robert showed in those 82 days," Barnathan said. . . .
Variety, August 10

RFK: Commie Hunter? We’ll Have None Of That
Why does liberal Hollywood always ignore the across the board tax cutting, election stealing, Commie hunting, J. Edgar Hoover partnering, into-Vietnam getting aspects of the Kennedy boys . . .
Of course it will only cover the last 82 days of Robert Kennedy’s life. Any further back might uncover *gasp* how conservative RFK once was. . . .
Dirty Harry, August 11

Hm...I wonder if Mr. Barack Obama's emulation of RFK's campaign style has something to do with this project's emergence. People seem to be in the mood for presidential candidates talking about change, hope, and poverty.

Jeff wrote:
: Hm...I wonder if Mr. Barack Obama's emulation of RFK's campaign style has something to do with this project's emergence. People seem to be in the mood for presidential candidates talking about change, hope, and poverty.

Well, Democrats seem to be, at any rate.

And even they have been quibbling with Obama's campaign lately. So it may be useful to recall that RFK, while a superstar of sorts, was by no means necessarily going to be the Democratic nominee for the presidency. Via Wikipedia:

After Johnson's withdrawal, Vice President Hubert Humphrey announced his candidacy. Kennedy was successful in four primaries and McCarthy five; however, in primaries where they campaigned directly against one another, Kennedy won three primaries and McCarthy one. Humphrey did not compete in the primaries, leaving that job to favorite sons who were his surrogates, notably Senator George A. Smathers from Florida, Senator Stephen M. Young from Ohio, and Governor Roger D. Branigin of Indiana. Instead, Humphrey concentrated on winning the delegates in non-primary states, where party leaders such as Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley controlled the delegate votes in their states. Kennedy defeated Branigin and McCarthy in the Indiana primary, and then defeated McCarthy in the Nebraska primary. However, McCarthy upset Kennedy in the Oregon primary.

After Kennedy's defeat in Oregon, the California primary was seen as crucial to both Kennedy and McCarthy. McCarthy stumped the state's many colleges and universities, where he was treated as a hero for being the first presidential candidate to oppose the war. Kennedy campaigned in the ghettos and barrios of the state's larger cities, where he was mobbed by enthusiastic supporters. Kennedy and McCarthy engaged in a television debate a few days before the election; it was generally considered a draw. On June 4 Kennedy narrowly defeated McCarthy in California, 46%–42%. However, McCarthy refused to withdraw from the race and made it clear that he would contest Kennedy in the upcoming New York primary, where McCarthy had much support from antiwar activists in New York City. The New York primary quickly became a moot point, however, for in the early morning of June 5, Kennedy was shot shortly after midnight; he died twenty-six hours later. Kennedy had just given his victory speech in a crowded ballroom of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles; he and his aides squeezed into a kitchen on their way to another ballroom to celebrate their victory. In the kitchen Kennedy was shot by Sirhan Sirhan, a young Palestinian militant who disliked Kennedy for his support of the state of Israel.

Political historians have debated to this day whether Kennedy could have won the Democratic nomination had he lived. Some historians, such as Theodore H. White and Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., have argued that Kennedy's broad appeal and famed "charisma" would have convinced the party bosses at the Democratic Convention to give him the nomination. Jack Newfield, author of RFK: A Memoir, stated in a 1998 interview that on the night he was assassinated, "[Kennedy] had a phone conversation with Mayor Daley of Chicago, and Mayor Daley all but promised to throw the Illinois delegates to Bobby at the convention in August 1968. I think he said to me, and Pete Hamil, 'Daley is the ball game, and I think we have Daley.'" However, other writers such as Tom Wicker, who covered the Kennedy campaign for The New York Times, believe that Humphrey's large lead in delegate votes from non-primary states, combined with Senator McCarthy's refusal to quit the race, would have prevented Kennedy from ever winning a majority at the Democratic Convention, and that Humphrey would have been the Democratic nominee even if Kennedy had lived. Journalist Richard Reeves has written that Humphrey was the likely nominee, and RFK's own campaign manager, future Democratic National Committee chairman Larry O'Brien, wrote in his memoirs that Kennedy's chances of winning the nomination had been slim, even after his win in California.

At the moment of RFK's death, the delegate totals were:

* Hubert Humphrey 561
* Robert F. Kennedy 393
* Eugene McCarthy 258

For whatever that's worth.

Incidentally, I believe Chris Columbus is a Catholic, too, as was RFK of course, so that might be another reason why the character resonates for the director.