WASHINGTON — Republicans are waging a take-no-prisoners battle to boot Democrats from what they consider GOP property: seats from House districts that presidential nominee Mitt Romney carried in 2012.

Yet even with President Barack Obama’s broad unpopularity hurting many of his party’s candidates, most of these contests are either toss-ups or races that Democrats have a decent chance of winning on Election Day.

Democrats hold nine Romney-won House congressional districts, dotting the country from Florida’s Atlantic Ocean beaches to rural Minnesota to Arizona’s border with Mexico.

Two races seem decided: The retirements of long-time Democratic incumbents Mike McIntyre of North Carolina and Jim Matheson of Utah all but ensure GOP victories Nov. 4. “That is a terrific opportunity,” said GOP pollster David Winston of the Democratic-held Romney districts. “But I want to emphasize that’s an opportunity, not an outcome.”

The nine seats are prime targets for Republicans as they try to pad their 233-199 House majority, which excludes three vacancies.

They and their allies’ ads often focus on linking these Democrats to Obama and his 2010 health care law. Obama got a 43 percent approval rating in last month’s Associated Press-GfK poll.

For Democrats, the Romney districts represent a crucial line of defense against further erosion of their minority status. These lawmakers, ranging from three freshmen to 19-term veteran Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., are fighting back with the advantages of incumbency, attempts to change the subject away from Obama and sometimes a financial edge.

“Candidates are able to localize their races,” said Democratic pollster David Beattie. While dissatisfaction with Washington is widespread, “they’re the ones delivering locally,” he said.

Underscoring the centrist tilt of the nine Democrats from Romney districts, six — including the two retirees — have been endorsed by the conservative National Rifle Association.

Five of the 10 races the National Republican Congressional Committee had spent most on were from these Romney districts, says the center, which monitors political spending. Atop the House GOP campaign arm’s list: $3.1 million to try prying Democrat Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick from her sprawling district in northern and eastern Arizona.