Here’s a fun Rhode Island trivia question for political junkies: In the last century, two Republicans have won at least 60 percent of the vote in the general election for governor. Who were they?

One was John Chafee.

The other was Edward D. DiPrete, who died Tuesday on his birthday at the age of 91.

DiPrete rode his record as Cranston mayor to consecutive landslide gubernatorial victories in 1984 and 1986, along with another two-year term in 1988 before corruption allegations dealt him one of the most lopsided losses in state history in 1990 (he later served a one-year prison sentence).

So how did DiPrete sweep into office during his first gubernatorial run in 1984?

The state archives has one of the most fascinating documents a Rhode Island political junkie could ever find. It’s DiPrete’s 72-page campaign strategy guide for the 1984 election, created by none other than Black, Manafort, and Stone, the powerful Republican lobbying group whose founders included future President Donald Trump allies Paul Manafort and Roger Stone.

The document outlines where DiPrete stood in polling, his media (TV and radio) plans, event strategy (a big focus on “Italian events"), and goes in-depth on how DiPrete should handle being tied by Democrats to incumbent President Ronald Reagan. Of course, the ties to Reagan ended up being a good thing, as Reagan secured one of the biggest landslide victories in American history during his reelection that same year.

The big message from DiPete’s strategy is something that probably sounds pretty familiar: “There is a sense within the electorate that Rhode Island is nearing a point where a change in leadership is desired,” the memo states.

The idea for DiPrete’s campaign was to capitalize on the populist movement while also presenting an image of being a competent manager of Cranston while allowing Democrats Anthony Solomon and Joe Walsh to slug it out in their primary.

“Because the Democrats are preoccupied with their primary, we will have a unique opportunity to develop a positive image of Ed DiPrete and provide the electorate with reasons why they approve of the job that Ed DiPrete has done,” the memo states.

If you’re looking for a down memory lane, you can read the full document here.