Romney held private Denver meeting with Dobson, Bauer

Mitt Romney took time on Thursday during a trip to Denver to meet with a group of well-known social conservatives, including Gary Bauer, James Dobson and others, POLITICO's Jonathan Martin reports.

The group assured Romney they are firmly behind him, according to a source familiar with the conservation.

The meeting took place roughly two weeks after a group of social conservatives, including Family Research Council head Tony Perkins, urged Romney to pick a running mate who's staunchly anti-abortion.

But at Thursday's meeting, which also included former Sen. William Armstrong and Lt. General William Boykin, the group thanked the presumptive GOP nominee for talking about certain issues, including his approach in his NAACP speech and his talk during the primaries about defunding Planned Parenthood, the source said.

A Romney spokeswoman didn't immediately respond to an email.

Maggie Haberman is senior political reporter for Politico.