diff --git a/relp_handler.go b/relp_handler.go
index dcb5085..1ed3623 100644
--- a/relp_handler.go
+++ b/relp_handler.go
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ func (r *RELPHandler) connectToRELPServer() (net.Conn, error) {
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("Error splitting host and port: %v", err)
 	}
-	conn, err = net.Dial("tcp", net.JoinHostPort(host, port))
+	conn, err := net.Dial("tcp", net.JoinHostPort(host, port))
 	if err != nil {
 		if relpDebug {
 			log.Printf("Failed to connect to RELP server at %s: %v", net.JoinHostPort(host, port), err)