No, this is more similar to the years in which the old Whig party broke apart due to factionalism about the slavery issue.
Some people think the Republican party was simply a renamed Whig party, but this isn’t true and most of the Whig establishment celebrities faded away from political prominence.
In this case, I think the Democrats are analogous to the Whigs. There are very few, if any, centrist Dems left. They keep the name going, but they are now the “Progressive” (read New Socialist) Party. The Scoop Jacksons and Joe Liebermans have indeed faded away.