How Ron DeSantis Could Unlock $86 Million for a Presidential Run

WASHINGTON—Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is poised to jump into the Republican presidential primary in the coming months with an $86 million pot of donor money—and a legally questionable strategy for using it.

The cash, currently sitting in a Florida political committee fund, would need to take a circuitous path to help him: It is illegal to use money raised for a state election to run for federal office, meaning Mr. DeSantis can’t simply transfer it into a presidential campaign account.