Nikki Haley finally has the one-on-one match she's craved. It may be too late.

SEABROOK, N.H. — Since the Iowa caucuses, Nikki Haley had attempted to frame the Republican presidential race as one-on-one combat between her and Donald Trump.

On Sunday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made it official for Haley, who appeared noticeably energized as she delivered the news of his exit at a campaign stop — even though the question of just how much this will help her looms over the shrinking primary campaign.

"Boy, are things changing fast," the former U.N. ambassador said at Brown’s Lobster Pound.

"We just heard that Ron DeSantis has dropped out of the race," Haley continued, as huge applause erupted from restaurant goers and volunteers. "I want to say to Ron, he ran a great race. He’s been a good governor, and we wish him well. Having said that, it’s now one fella and one lady left."

She later added, "May the best woman win."

Inside the Haley campaign, there’s a sense of energy over the news of his dropping out, though officials there don’t think it will make much of a difference when it comes to the numbers, pointing to public surveys showing DeSantis in the single digits in both South Carolina and New Hampshire. In that sense, they believe that’s why it was a two-person race before DeSantis dropped.

"This is a boost," said one person familiar with the campaign’s thinking, arguing that it proves Haley is an outsider.

Regardless of his endorsement of Trump, the Haley campaign believes DeSantis’ voters will be divided up between her and the former president. What’s more, they see it as a clarion call to voters who are unenthusiastic about a Trump-versus-Biden rematch that it’s time to get behind the former governor of South Carolina

One Haley adviser, Rick Wiley, tweeted, "The utter humiliation," as news