The Whigs were replaced, correct?
The Whigs were a casualty of the realignment of political parties in the 1850’s over the issue of slavery. The Whigs in a nutshell advocated a stronger federal government especially in regards to spending on internal improvements. They had supporters both North and South. They split when the issue of slavery dwarfed all other issues in the 1850’s. The pro-slavery Whigs went over to the Democrats, while the abolitionist Whigs with a small amount of anti-slavery Democrats formed the Republican Party.
Study up on it a little. The Whigs existed for less than three decades. The Whigs crashed and burned and the new Republican Party jumped into the vacuum they left behind..
Remember, our nation was not founded with a partisan political system. Washington's Farewell Address spoke against political factions and partisanship. Political Parties were fluid and evolving until Jackson started the Democrat Party.
When you consider the Dems have been around since 1828 and the GOP has existed since 1854, comparing the Whigs to the GOP in a firmly entrenched and codified two-party system has no value at all.
Consider instead Roosevelt's Bull Moose Party which split the vote with Taft to give Wilson the win. That is the best showing a third party has ever made with 27% of the total vote. The GOP lost then too.