During the Communist Party congress in November 2017, Manuela was launched as pre-candidate for President of Brazil in the 2018 election. She withdrew from the race an supported Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. On 11 September 2018, D'Ávila became the running mate of Fernando Haddad, who replaced Lula as candidate. They lost the election on 28 October 2018.